Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose
after John Singer Sargent
Eden could have been like this: two girls,
awake with wonder
glowing in their hands,
the carnations listening to the swish-swish-sway
of fabric in the breeze; nothing else
touches them here.
But someday the lanterns will hang from a veranda,
and even the roses will have lost
all memory of the earlier garden.
Years after tonight, the lily’s pollen
will be found, sprinkled
in the ruffles of a yellowed linen dress.
--- Sarah Binns