by Cynthia Knorr
With a name that tickles the tongue—Stella d’Oro
star of gold but more of a yellow and certainly no star,
smaller, cheaper than her exotic sisters: Ruffled Apricot,
White Angel, Burgundy Queen, and as Blanche would say,
common so common, not living among the hothouse
flowers our little Stella but close to the earth
firmly planted outside the bank, the Dollar Store,
the house next door, wherever there’s a border
or blank space that needs filling with a girl like her,
just pretty enough and tough as a Brillo Pad
against slugs, drought, and road salt, someone
who wakes up each spring with a wink and a nod,
determined to rise above her patch of earth
and make us smile as we walk from our car to the 7-Eleven.
A weekend visitor from New York for many years, Cynthia Knorr has lived full-time in New Hampshire since 2012. Her poems have appeared in Adanna, The Aurorean, Café Review, Shot Glass Journal, Healing Muse, The Main Street Rag, and others. She was awarded First Prize in both the Poetry Society of New Hampshire’s national and members’ contests. Her chapbook A Vessel of Furious Resolve will be published by Finishing Line Press in May 2019.
Smoky Quartz 