FLOWERS SCENES FOR THE PRIE-DIEU
By Anna Evas
1 Wisteria
How is it, being real,
you evoke the unreal?
In Tuam,
your aerial lavenders
suggest a soiree of elves.
In Tokyo,
the paintbrush of Hiroshige
turns you into a drape
for a shrine.
2 Mimosa
Your soft brooms
sweep the sky.
Nimbus pinks,
the kilim-rug texture
of your leaves
tickle the breeze.
What magic
changes my rags
to feathers?
3 Black-eyed Susan
I wear you like a jaapi hat—
the dome on top
brown as a clove.
Your sunup petals
shade my vision.
It’s a secret
how fields open,
the dark sweats spice,
my green eye wanders.
4 Dying Prairie Rose
Candelabra
on a sharp green stem,
I ritualize
my own disappearance.
First petals drop,
then sepals shrivel
like thirsty tongues—
divested on an altar.
5 Violettes Cristallisees
Tyrian purple,
your candied petals
flavor my humiliations
with a hint
of French soap.
Freshened,
I straighten like a tree
roosting with martins.
About the Author:
Anna Evas poems and essays have appeared in literary and medical journals, including Michigan Quarterly Review and Irises. She makes her living as a pianist, composer and lyricist.