Selection 2 of
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Hibiscusby Nancy ClarkDouble-petaled, lemon-butter bloom Floated at its stem-end Buoyant and nodding Like the drift of a ruffled skirt It hung just now A shriveled pod of petals folded, Heavy burden on its stem, Soft and numbed, A wrinkled, wadded crinoline. Like a chance intruder on a private time I saw the very instant of its fall, Witnessed its silent break. The stem swayed up and stilled. And, severed, the faded head Dropped softly on the soil, Not yet changed at all, still tender, Yet now forever changed, Left to forget water. |
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