Meadows
Alexandra Saputo
My balcony is drenched in light.
Gold and amber and rose
Seeps into the sky.
Morning’s easy air tastes of heaven.
Its incense wanders over
Untamed earth
Through sun kissed meadows
Of honeycomb, emerald,
and jasper.
I find myself among the wildflowers
and their nepenthean perfume.
Could life be so sweet?
I gather gaiety in bushels,
My basket blooming with
Chrysanthemums and primrose in
Xanthic hues,
Wine dark carnations and mourning brides
Composing bouquets of botanical wildings
From the lavender and anemones, the butterfly
Weeds abandoned to Nature —
Lost within her resplendent chaos.
I take my darlings home.
They bring their sunshine with them.
The scent of nectar
Spills into the kitchen from glass mason jars
Perched upon the windowsill
As I watch the alchemy of life unfold:
Pale white roots emerging from green stems,
The hungry, yearning fibers stretching
To the edge of their foreign ecosystem.
I tuck them in hand painted pots
Packed with Mahogany earth
And place them on the balcony.
They flourish in the elixir of light and warmth,
and my spirit grows bright.
Perhaps I will start a garden.
But a thief swept through the darkness
and stripped summer from the air.
A bitter chill seeped into the bones of the evening,
My Happiness choked by dawn.
How foolish I was
to think
I could be loved.