Pigeon

The brackish roots of river pine Anchored in my curving spine Bend to the whims of wind's design And I lay down at your side Above the brine of reds in clay A swollen angel oaks bouquet In the red-winged blackbird's eyes of grey A saltwater tear resides But the sand and the earthen parapet Silts into this rivulet The bluffs and the banks will soon forget A single tear was cried And in this spawning ground it blooms The nectar and the petal plumes A purple swallow now exhumed From the river that has died Palmately spread delphinium Bachelor-buttoned malva comes To be your lilied bride The crimson of rinoculous Gardenia and dianthus The bloodless ivory water-lotus Sweetly opens wide But even the most fondly named Rooted and green leaves framed Surely must come to be reclaimed