Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom.
Image Credit: http://www.bhg.com
A cape of thorns worn
Crown of pink its head adorned
Desert grown jewel
Prickly Pear Her Majesty
There is beauty in this beast
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A Cape Of Thorns Worn (Tanka)
Dom DiFrancesco 
Very clever!
Thank you very much. :)
We had these desert cacti my parents yard. You write so well and I always enjoy reading your work.
Thank you so very much. The are painful when contacted, but very beautiful when they flower. I appreciate your kind comment.
The words describe the picture perfectly… very clever indeed, Dom. :-)
Thank you very much, many people don’t realize just how beautiful their flowers are. :)
Greatly written Dom! I always love your Tanka’s.
Hugz
Thank you very much Patty. Hugs to you my friend. :)
Always wondered why it’s called a prickly pear.
I;m not really sure other than its fins are sort of pear shaped. All I know is that the needles on the prickly pear are ultra-fine and exceptionally painful and hard to remove. Their flowers however, are very beautiful.
it’s called prickly pear because of it’s fruit – who’d get near it to pick it? I’ve seen people picking the fruit, though.
Ellespeth
We purchased one a few years ago and placed it in between the seats of our van to keep it from falling over, unfortunately my wife wasn’t paying attention and while leaning over to get something out the back she ran across the top of it with her chest. She had so many needles in her that it made her sick and it took a very long time for them to all come out (beyond what we could see and pull out). I guess that at least gives it the “prickly” part of its name.
I assume thick gloves and a careful touch would help.
Gloves are certainly mandatory and a careful touch certainly wouldn’t hurt. :)
Lovely!!
Thank you very much, I appreciate that. :)
I’m slowly working my way through your blog – starting with your poems.
This cactus is growing in an empty lot near us – as you say, in your poem, a beast..but so lovely in full bloom.
I did enjoy this one…
Ellespeth
Thank you very much Ellespeth, I’m so glad that you did. :)