an ode to oui-d

by Jacklyn Whealan

From the ground

A leafy plant is born

Its smell confused

Skunks misconstrued

Once fully emerged

Flowers are stripped

Cut to be sent away

This week.

These little buds

Now stored away

Are ordered

Each day, for customers

Who want to smoke a tray.

A multitude of flavors

An addictive array

Built for adults only

Or with a medical display.

Once acquired

The person inspired

Uses the plant,

Rolled into some paper

When lit with fire

Watches the anxiety 

Dissipate away.

What some may

Call a crime,

Is another’s divine.

Jacklyn Whealan is an aspiring poet currently attending Wentworth Institute of Technology, located in Boston, Massachusetts, earning a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering while maintaining her creative roots in writing. Jacklyn’s knowledge of poetry was founded in a Poetry Workshop class at Wentworth Institute, taught by Gloria Monaghan. This class truly propelled Jacklyn’s love of writing forward, to where she is now continuing her writing projects.