Easter Lilies

For a long while she stood in the flower shop window The daffodils dearest at this time of year Inside she emptied her purse on the counter I want to buy all of the daffodils here By her eyes it was plain to see she’d been crying As she tucked back a loose strand of hair from her face I want to spend all of my money on flowers And I need every daffodil here in this place Clutching her harvest a cornsheaf of flowers    She clambered aboard the late rush hour tram And by Schweigaadsgate a small pool of water Had formed on the floor as if wrung from her hands It all seemed to add to the lost look about her As the grey rattling city went rumbling past She sat like a small child testing for butter Her face lit in yellow from the flowers tightly clasped Once in her apartment she lay down the blooms   Divided them up into glasses and jars ’Til daffodils filled every space in the room Then she lit every candle she could find in the house She bathed and she dressed and corked open champagne Which made pigeons fly from her window cill Then closing the curtains on the birds and the rain She stood among flickering daffodils Surrounded and centred she pondered her feelings Sofa’d and cushioned on feathers she lay Holding on to the pillows lest she float to the ceiling And just like the cigarette smoke drift away She wondered just where the wind might deliver An unwritten letter in a torn envelope Though candlelight warmed she suddenly shivered And the yellow flowers shimmered with brightness and hope.