The Language of Flowers

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Do you like to garden?
the estate agent asked
tangerine nails
tapping out
where to sign.

Rose, thornless: love at first sight

She died the year before
of course
I only met the husband.
Clamoring up and down
those garden paths
he paused.
A rare fern grows here
he said
but now he can't
seem to find it.

Camellia, pink: longing for you

He was a horrible man
the neighbor said
made her do everything
even after
she got sick.

Hydrangea: you are cold, heartlessness

Another said
she liked to take
the hidden path
between our houses
bringing Summer vegetables.

Rose, pink: friendship

I see her hand
in these gardens
strips of old cloth
support leaning trees
she never had the heart
to pull up an ill-placed sapling.

Geranium, ivy-leaf: your hand for the next dance

And I wonder
if she left a message here
in the language of flowers

Carnation, pink: I'll never forget you

Or maybe she just
really liked pink.

Cyclamen: Resignation and goodbye

 

February 28th, 2016