Soliloquy #3, On Imagination Poem by RIC BASTASA

so i may not be flushed out from the system
like any fecal matter
i comply with what you ask of me
i am now a flower
and behind me are blue clouds
and on my stalks
are leaves

no thorns, no worms
for you do not like them

now it is your time to love me and keep me
forever
you must pretend that you are not a worm
that you are not a relative of the thorn

now it is your time to become a bee
now you must buzz around this garden in our minds
now you must pollinate me

it is all in the imagination
imaginary bee imaginary flower
how perfect can our imaginary world become!

kiss me in my imagination
shape your thoughts like the lips of a lover
now all too hungry for my love