William James Rosser
November 8, 2026
Great monarchs are migrating through
the wild corridor of my yard.
Gorged on milkweed, weary, taking
respite on leggy Señoritas
Rosalitas, late zinnias
and the browned pods of trumpet vines.
Spider lilies, at last, arrived.
There’s sea-change on ballot cards.
Otherwise, I will cut three red
sudden lilies, take them inside,
vase them with ditch fleabane,
pour wine,
and wait for the house to burn down.
Then hitch-a-ride with butterflies
to Old Mexico.
William James Rosser is a poet, flower merchant and former sommelier from the Blackland Prairies of North Texas. He studied journalism and literature at Lamar University, and currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He writes from a century-old house, at the foot of the Osage Hills.
