• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Painted Bride Quarterly

  • About
    • About PBQ
    • People
  • Issues
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Print Annuals
  • Podcast
    • Latest Podcast
    • All Podcasts
  • News & Events
  • Submit
  • Shop
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Prose
  • Contributors
  • Current Issue

Rhonda Lott: Ode to Dolly Parton

August 14, 2017 by PBQ Leave a Comment

    —a collage poem of lines from The Michigan Bulb Company

Old world charm meets modern garden
performance! Nothing gobbles up attention
like the large and showy double white

with soft pink tips tailored
for heavy feeding demands.
These are the biggest

blueberries you’ll ever see—
sweet, tasty and self-pollinating.
Long production season, high yield.

Don’t be fooled by the small height,
this full size Southern Belle
is held precious atop sturdy stems.

If you can picture an endless garden
or a multitude of bouquets,
this stage is for you! Jazz up

your shady areas with this nectar-like lady,
sweeter than sugar—with no calories!
The dangerous white teeth and coral-fringe

make your eyes blink in disbelief,
hold on to attention-getting tones
until the very end, dropping

from the well-rounded plant
just in time to welcome
the next round of abundant blooms.

Light: Full sun to partial shade.
Blooms: Summer to frost.
You may never want to grow another rose again.

Filed Under: Contributors 93, Issue 93, Poetry, Poetry 93 Tagged With: Contributors 93, Issue 93, Poetry, Poetry 93, Rhonda Lott

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent News & Events

PBQ @ AWP!

PBQ Poet’s Publishing Premier: Carlos Andrés Gómez’s Fractures

Issue 100 Has Arrived!

Temporarily Closing Submissions

PBQ presents: Slam Bam Reboot

© 2020 Painted Bride Quarterly. Contact PBQ: info@pbqmag.org