Poetry Friday: When The Roses Speak

When The Roses Speak (flowers on my desk)

​​​​​​​As long as we are able to be extravagant,
​​​​​​​we will be hugely and damply extravagant.
​​​​​​​Then we will drop foil by foil to the ground.
​​​​​​​This is our unalterable task, and we do it joyfully.
​​​​​​​And they went on. “Listen, the heart-shackles
​​​​​​​are not, as you think,
​​​​​​​death, illness, pain, unrequited hope,
​​​​​​​not loneliness,
​​​​​​​but lassitude, rue, vainglory,
​​​​​​​fear,
​​​​​​​anxiety,
​​​​​​​selfishness.
​​​​​​​Their fragrance all the while rising
​​​​​​​from their blind bodies, making me
​​​​​​​spin with joy.

​​​​​Mary Oliver, Devotions