(carnation)

This tangerine
colored carnation,
left on my desk
so long it seems
like paper.
Life still at the
center, though
the edges brown
and curl.
A centerpiece
for the purple
statice,
which will
outlast it,
waiting patiently
for another
colorful bloom
like an out-of-town
visitor who
wakes you up
to your life.

3/8/99