Poem Renaissance – Shaun R. Pankoski

Gyroscope Review is celebrating National Poetry Month with a Poem Renaissance, a review of previously published poems looking for new life and new views. Every day through May 20^th, a new poem to fall in love with all over again.

Mimosa Pudica
by Shaun R. Pankoski

We call it shy grass, he said, as I pointed
to the dark, creeping foliage, the pert pink flowers
looking like miniature firework displays.
Then he bent down, looked up at me,
and ran his forefinger gently along one of the veins.
The double compound leaflets folded―
like synchronized swimmers,
like tiny hands in prayer,
like a Venus flytrap.
I had just moved here. Everything was new
and amazing. Including him. I felt myself shiver
as I watched him touch vein after vein.
Now, I pull these from my yard with a vengeance.
I wear thick gloves with rubber fingertips
and padded palms. Far from shy, sleepy
or shamed, their taproot is strong and robust.
Now I know they fold to expose themselves,
to reveal a million tiny barbs, easily drawing blood.

Originally appeared in Thimble Literary Magazine, Fall 2024 issue

Shaun R. Pankoski (she/her) is a poet most recently from Volcano, Hawaii. A retired county worker and two time breast cancer survivor, she has lived on both coasts as well as the Midwest as an artist's model, modern dancer, massage therapist and honorably discharged Air Force veteran. A 2024 Pushcart Prize nominee, her poems have appeared here and in ONE ART, Quartet, SWIMM, Anacapa Review, Mackinaw Journal, and MockingHeart Review, among others. She was selected as a finalist by Lefty Blondie Press for her chapbook manuscript, Tipping the Maids in Chocolate: Observations of Japan.

Don’t forget to read the Spring 2025 Issue, available now, online and in print

Previous Renaissance Poets

April Poets

May Poets