sestina sestina.

Sestina from 2007

your silent truth roars like the river
breaking down the dam of lies your mind houses,
taking root in early winter and sprouting like a tulip.
this truth is too old and brittle for your mind to hold,
but in its glory is as beautiful as a shooting star
that flashes through the sky, like a petticoat.

your silent untold truth has now become a grown up petticoat.
look at her standing on the corner, as loud and graceful as the river
that runs through the city. one day, she says, she will be a star.
she will be rich and famous and own many houses.
she says this to you, and also that she wants to hold
her father’s hand. like she did when she was young, when he gave her tulips,

her favorite flower. now the yellow of the tulips
glances off her walls and onto the hidden layers of her petticoat.
this precious moment you have of her is the most wonderful thing held
in your mind’s eye, with her sitting in the corner, with the river
sounding through the window. roaring through the streets of houses,
it seems as near as it is, and as far as the stars.

you feel like shouting your truth to the stars,
those cold unfeeling stars, as yellow as the sun-dried tulips
sitting on your daughter’s kitchen table, in her big empty house.
on the wall is a black and white photograph of a girl on a swing, you can see her petticoat
as she pumps her legs and swings back and forth, as wild as the river
behind her, longs for her to hold

just like you long for your little girl to hold
in your arms, your little star
she walks with you along the riverbank
as she walks, she picks up tulips
from among the flowers, coloured petticoat red
to keep in her empty house.

when you look at her house,
you wonder how long she fought to hold
it in her eyes, so she could wear a petticoat
alone under the burning stars.
blossoming nebulas of interstellar tulips
running through the milky way river.

the house of your little star
pulls you in and holds you like it did the flowers, the tulips, while the petticoat drifts slowly down the river.