Elizabeth Bewick
Herb Pot-Pourri
Roses bloom early in a heat–wave Spring,
already I make yellow pot–pourri
from full–blown 'Peace', each petal tinged with pink.
I have to use left–over lavender,
the hedge is only growing cuckoo–spit
and it's too soon for that compulsive haze
that passing strangers brush against and nip,
sniffing their fingers as they walk away.
I pick fresh rosemary, whose scented spikes
remind me to pay tribute to the past,
to bathe with it removes all trace of age
but I'm not certain that's a risk I'll take:
we first get on with life, then shape our verse
out of the pattern that the years have made.
already I make yellow pot–pourri
from full–blown 'Peace', each petal tinged with pink.
I have to use left–over lavender,
the hedge is only growing cuckoo–spit
and it's too soon for that compulsive haze
that passing strangers brush against and nip,
sniffing their fingers as they walk away.
I pick fresh rosemary, whose scented spikes
remind me to pay tribute to the past,
to bathe with it removes all trace of age
but I'm not certain that's a risk I'll take:
we first get on with life, then shape our verse
out of the pattern that the years have made.
Page(s) 6
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