Love at Another Latitude

by Martin Settle

---

I want to be in love
in an arid clime
away from clichés of the prairie
where love is red roses
grows strong like an oak
seeks warmth by a crackling fire
I want to be in love
in a land of succulents and sand
where love smells of juniper
jasmine, jacaranda
bougainvillea describes
romantic neon hearts
and Mediterranean cypresses
are green spires of desire
where deep kisses taste of agave nectar
and lovers’ limbs
lie twisted in the banyan

---

Martin Settle is a writer based in Charlotte, NC. Settle has taught English for 32 years, the last 17 of which were at UNC Charlotte. Settle has published seven books (a memoir, an art design book, a joke book, and four books of poetry). In addition, he has been awarded The Thomas McDill Award (North Carolina Poetry Society), The Poetry of Courage Award (North Carolina Poetry Society), the International Nazim Hikmet Poetry Award, the Griffin-Farlow Haiku Award and has been published in The New York Times. His website is www.martinsettle.com.

Read More