For Pat Kun
Inhale the scent of roses!
Melbourne is the city of roses.
I shall be there in early October, in Spring,
for a birthday – Pat's eightieth year of youth –
when, for joy, her home,
white-walled, will smile bright red with roses.
Next year at this time, we’ll recall the big eight zero,
a giant of a birthday … but days of wine and roses
can be for the tiny little pixie anniversaries too, the non-
zero years. Shall I return, or just send champagne?
Meanwhile, this year and I have flown fast, fast forwarding
to arrive at this festivity,
this visit to the city of Melbourne
to see my friend Pat turn 80 and smell the generous roses.
Written according to Ravi Shankar's instructions for a 'Manipulated Fourteen-Line Poem' in the book Wingbeats. The verse breaks are my own, and create a sort of upside-down free-verse sonnet.
A wonderful occasion for celebration. I hope you both have a wonderful time. I hear you, about time fast-forwarding.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet. As the rose who wrote it
ReplyDeleteIt is such a special occasion. Turning 80 is a privilege many can only hope for but they die trying!
ReplyDeleteHank
I liked the length of 14 lines, works so well, and what joy to celebrate 80 years of youth... it's worth a million roses.
ReplyDeleteI closed my eyes... and visualized a house with "smile bright red with roses". And the color and scent are glorious.
ReplyDelete