Frail flower of winter
there is a hardy truth
to your solitary beauty
all weathers resisting

a survivor in the midst
of so much decadence
and decay : I salute
your proud courage

surrounded as you are
by the barbed thorn
of blackberry canes
amid dense beds

of nettle that thrive
in this godforsaken scrub
where no licit love
has ever been known

John Lyons