A sun-shower sprinkles

the Knock Out roses,

shamelessly red

on roadside bushes—

so willing to bloom.

Unlike the hybrids

adorning estate gardens,

petals dusted with

fungicides, branches

carefully pruned

to win the prize.

The Knock Out

waiting for the right

combination, a one-

two punch of bright sun

and a passing cloud.

The referee counts

ten, declares a winner.

DR DAVID B AXELROD was Suffolk County NY’s and is now Volusia County, Florida, Poet Laureate  appointed for 2015-2023. He’s been published in hundreds of magazines, anthologies; twenty-two books of poetry—the newest, All Vows: New & Selected Poems. Read more about him at his website: www.poetrydoctor.org.