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Descanso Gardens
by Charlie Becker

It is how our friendship
maidenhair and oak
sits in sleeveless shadows thinking poetry,
water-colored koi cool the bottoms of my feet
your head on my lap,
a white camellia at your chest
unearths all the verses we need.

It is how a thousand tulips
watch and protect us,
Japanese maples hold the sun
in each enlightened leaf,
Formosa petals fall around your frailty
and fill its pockets,
I read to you and you repeat the words
we might memorize
if there are to be more days.

It is how
when the afternoon abandons us
hardly ready to go home
we rise holding hands,
watch the camellia float
silent soft to your footprint
and I see
you are leaving it for me, offering
everything we have come to know.


 

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