Echinocereus triglochidiatus
Hedgehog cactus
Norah Booth
Ode to Hedgehog Cactus
In the Pope's tongue
your name is
difficult
But in Sonora
we lovingly call you
Hedgehog
Pithy curmudgeon,
you are one ball of
ornery black spikes
A pincushion
small enough
to fit in a hand
You never grunt
Once every year
Primo Vere dances in
pins a claret cup,
an offering to the firstlings,
on your crown
For four days
your downside-up
zucchetto
even in starlight
Happy hog,
your tipsy topper
swallows
a hummer's head
whole and
—just for fun—
brilliantly paints
the bird's noggin
yellow
Desert’s darling,
you offer your sweet desserts
to any clever enough
to get past
the pricks
~~~~~
As a freelance journalist Tucson native Norah Booth has chronicled the destruction of pristine Sonoran desert habitat. In addition to magazines like Poets and Writers she has published in Many Mountains Moving and Cultural Corridors of Pima County.