Spiny Lament Poem by Timothy Watson

You gave me a cactus at Christmastime
Ferocactus Glaucens
You told me quite sincerely it was part of you
it's true!

The similarity is clear
I fear I can't get near!
It ever poses a prickly problem
The spines there to protect
form cautious respect
The skin below is beautiful but thick
The shape compact still the most pleasurable form
Inside I know is white and pure and soft an moist
but never shall I pass the first line of defence
To force that goal would unsettle
and wholly expose the softer part
to the desert wind

They say that cacti live a long time
but very seldom change