By Carmen Burke
the tigerlily and the white rose abide in an everlasting june alone,
together
they rest in the shade of a fern and whisper softly
the white rose takes care to hide her thorns
she is ethereal, lovely and wholly unique;
not meant for a bouquet.
she is as she is, the jewel of the garden,
and cannot be cut or dyed,
bent or tamed.
she befriended the lily,
striped and wild
they have nothing in common
and yet everything, as flowers do.
they are beautiful, strange, and all the more so.
they talk with each other, and they talk with god
longing for a sacred space
asking if they worthy of eden
they do not realize
as they laugh and sing with each other and the stars,
their language foreign to shears and storms,
how lovely they are
how good their company
they have created a new eden,
fit just for them,
all paradise in a backyard garden.
they are hidden, not lost,
alone together in a concrete world.