The Fairy Castle Poem by Juan Olivarez

There's a fairy castle, in my backyard,
It's spires reaching upward, towards the sky.
It's blue green spines pointy and hard,
One little stab will make you want to cry.

It stretches fifteen feet, into the air,
Majestic in the setting sun.
A king of the desert noble and fair,
An impenetrable fortress, to all but one.

Up in the topmost spires a thrush,
Has made her simple home.
In between the stems that squeeze and crush,
On her nest she's sitting all alone.

Without a worry in the world she rests,
And in her bed she sings and nestles.
While her mate dozes near the nest,
Happy within, their fairy castle.

The fairy castle is of the genus night blooming Cereus.
This particular specimen, is from the Mojave in Arizona,
And is about fifteen feet high, armed to the teeth.