when you blow on the bulb,

the false dandelion is a wonder

—the white seeds, the teeth,

don’t budge from the flower

head. cat’s ear. hawkbits. or beards.

the wish you think you want runs

with milky sap through the stem

down your hand, past your wrist,

into your long shirtsleeve.

it’s a faulty premise, like mistletoe.

never have i once, beneath its green

mystery, the cinnamon, cloves,

and orange bursts skipping

through the air, the evergreen

holly and oxblood berries above

the boughed jamb, been kissed.

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Janea Wilson is a first-year MFA poetry student at CSU Long Beach. Her poetry & fiction has appeared in Mused Magazine, Myriad Magazine, American Mustard Magazine, & elsewhere. She is founder & editor-in-chief of lipstickparty mag, an online creative writing & general interest zine.