Rosemary & Thyme
A poem by Sterling Warner 

Rosemary & Thyme  

Gemma wore a wildflower garland 
whenever she went hiking or walked; 

dancing through fields of mustard greens 
she’d bend, lie down on her back,  
face the sun with eyelids shut yet ears 
wide open to listen & absorb 
nature’s cries from birdists pishing 
to June bugs buzzing; enlivened, 
aware, unequivocally a pastoral child 
rising only as the sun set on the horizon 
& mosquitoes chased her on home 
with a hand full of roses, sage, hibiscus,  
& jasmine stalks Gemma would weave… 

fashioning headdresses shared with sisters  
she invited to join her outdoors the next day.

About the Author:

An award-winning author, poet, and emeritus English Professor, Sterling Warner’s works have appeared many literary magazines, journals, and anthologies including Anti-heroin Chic, The Galway Review, and Sparks of Calliope. Warner’s poetry/fiction include Rags and Feathers, Without Wheels, ShadowCat, Edges, Memento Mori: a Chapbook Redux, Serpent’s Tooth, Flytraps, Cracks of Light: Pandemic Poetry & Fiction 2019-2022, Halcyon Days: Collected Fibonacci, Abraxas: Poems (2024), and Masques: Flash fiction & Short Stories. 

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