Bridge of Flowers
………………….— For Nadea
After some errands I walk the bridge,
looking for her, finding October's bloom.
…….How you would have loved
…….this profusion of dahlias
I say, offering my end of the conversation
aloud despite the press of tourists.
…….All those hours kneeling in the garden—
…….Are you busy again,
…….landscaping His many mansions?
…….Or sailing an ethereal breeze?
I listen for her soaring laugh.
…….Toasting the host of heaven
…….and singing madrigals with the spheres?
which so embarrassed me when I was young.
…….What committees are you
…….organizing now?
but there is only this quiet,
as from every blossom she emerges
…….What are these colors?
…….You must know—
dark-lined in rose, like shades of evening sky
…….—you wore them often
…….in the last few years.
glowing against thr brushy green
…….And the mountains of your heart—
…….are they easier now to climb?
which soon will lapse into white,
sleeping ground.
by Susan Middleton
from Seed Case of the Heart
Slate Roof Publishing, 2007