When the indifferent world awoke this morn
I reached to your sallow hand resting gently on your breast,
rising and falling with each shallow breath.
The creamy silk of your kimono
spread across your refuge,
an amber pyre igniting your shrinking frame.
I remember the rustling of your saffron skirts,
a memory fading over the years,
the amber glow slowly dying to my ears.
I am anxious that this last golden sunrise
not be remembered
by your diminishing countenance
but by your luscious laughter
filing the room,
halcyon rose petals
steeping the air with
with your sweetness.



Through the wheaten sheers,
the glint of mid-day dances across your motionless face,
lighting citrine sparks through your flaxen curls resting gently,
encircling your head,
a glimmering crown framing your once aureate smile.
I celebrate the memory of your radiance
moving through the afternoon garden,
daffodils, calla lilies, and
ladies slippers once blushing at your touch.



Eventide brings a calming of the brilliant splendor
of your now honeyed cheeks.
My lips touch those you once sweetened with quince
as Aphrodite perfuming her kiss,
a kiss now absolute.
Unobtrusively in a whisper mortality meets perfection as
your candlelight dissolves into a waxen pool.
The color of yellow greats you with luminosity
leaving behind a tawny afterglow
lighting the darkness of my soul.