Petals at Dusk

Morning on the petals

A quiet gold in bloom

I walk where the jasmine leans

Past rows of rosemary rain

Every leaf holds a trembling green

Like a name I almost say

The garden keeps its patient heart

Under the soil and the stain

I bring my hands like open jars To catch what the roses

gave

And the air turns deep and bright

As the branches bend to hear

Something tender climbs the light

Something lost comes near

Flower by flower, the day opens wide Garden of aching,

garden of light Hold me like ivy,

close to the stone Teach my wild heart how to bloom

on its own Flower by flower,

I soften inside

Rooted in sorrow, still reaching high

The lilies bow over the path White as a letter unread I

feel the weight of the season pass Blue through the back of

my chest

Still there is thyme by the fence

Still there is mint in the rain

Still there are small living proofs That broken things rise again

If I must break,

let it be like seed Hidden for a while,

then finding heat

If I must change,

let it be this slow

With both grief and color in the growth Flower by flower,

the day opens wide Garden of aching,

garden of light Hold me like ivy,

close to the stone Teach my wild heart how to bloom on

its own Flower by flower,

I soften inside

Rooted in sorrow, still reaching high

Morning on the petals

I leave in bloom