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SPRING AZURE
Ellin Anderson
What was adamant is soft,
What was strong is frail.
Darkest mood is borne aloft
On an azure double sail:
Someone long at peace, and free,
Flutters back to comfort me.
When I turn the mellow soil,
Where I hide the seeds,
Fallen sky of color royal,
Rolling like two lapis beads
On the breeze, you hasten by,
Small, determined butterfly.
Roman gem of sapphire glass,
Look how far you came.
Do you flicker on the grass
Like a shadow, or a flame?
Sent from Heaven, saved from Hell,
You will never, never tell.
See the testament of strength
I learned at your side.
Garden beds of gracious length
By a river rough and wide.
Charon took your steel from you,
But I revel in its blue.
Do you like the garden now,
In its spring repose?
You alone grace twig and bough
Far too early for the rose,
But when blossoms frame the doors,
You will know that I am yours.
Pleasant passage, noble soul,
On your starry way.
I am altogether whole,
And in parting, let me say
With a daughter’s reverence due,
God alone stands next to you. |
