Like a recurring dream, I find myself in this familiar place again
A garden, nature’s self-portrait unblemished by time’s eroding touch
Had Milton been too quick to proclaim ‘paradise lost?’
Gently, the wind carries with it the aroma of flowers in full bloom
The sun’s gaze exhibiting these jewels in all their brilliance
I am drawn to a single lily, as the moth courting the light of the naked flame
Fortunes are squandered in pursuit of the rarest orchid
But is this lily mine to plant firmly in the crevice of my heart?
A second glance surely reveals my blind folly
The lily’s beauty fades in the blink of an eye
Its damaged silvery petals, now scar my fingertips at a single touch
Had I viewed this blossoming flower wearing ‘rose-tinted glasses?’
Darkness cloaks the place where the garden once stood;
Did I imagine it?
A world birthed deep in the recesses of my mind
The lines dividing the truth from lies for the moment appear blurred
The lily forever washed up on the sea of forgetfulness