On Two Levels
This beautiful climbing rosebush leaning
on the iron frame – a transformed deep red color
(who knows from what secret mixing) a hue
gracefully rosy yet closer to silver – shines
these spring days lights the marble stairs
the outside walls even inside the small kitchen pots
only that this wasteful wealth brings to mind
those old (and future) autumns when
the yard tiles the storage room the cistern
even the upstairs rooms the library the beds
fill with dry petals stems thorns leaves
and you need to sweep them so often
For this reason
when we express our admiration to the lady of the house
for her beautiful rosebush – what a color what a shine –
she just smiles in a certain sorrowful and remote way
as if she would prefer that it was
a very delicate ring on her pinkie finger
Libros Libertad 