2000 Poetry Contest - Honorable Mention

The Blue Prince
by Rick Sheeley

The Blue Prince has finally returned this year
To the land of cactus and immigrant stockbrokers
Stepping quietly across the Rockies, he reaches down
Touches the cheek of the Desert Rose, and she is chilled

He has come to her bed, faithfully, these many years
Not her favorite, but definitely her most interesting lover
Who flies through the wintry skies of December and January
Blotting out the sun which she lives and longs for each day

He dusts the Midwest’s hair salt-and-pepper, grinds cornstalks into soil
Pisses ice and frozen rain over the Great Lakes with a childish glee
Slaps whitewash over the faded washboards of Colorado and Wyoming
Strips the blanket from the bed of the Carolinas, leaving them shivering

Then returns each evening to her mattress of thorns and tumbleweeds
Rolls in the dust, kissing her face, stealing her warmth, wrapped in her legs
They rumble and roll, kicking up the Sonoran jet stream, leaving a trail of dust
Across the wide, Arizona skies, streaked in the reds and purples of passions

Leaves her shivering under a blanket of silvery frost, her yellow hair
Streaked with icicles and crystalloid diamonds, her sleepy sighs
Cold, cool air that cleans the particulates from the dusted desert air
And the valley is cold and quiet in the elongated nights of the affair

Between the rose and the Blue Prince of Winter.

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