after the frankincense

David Leo

after the frankincense
the smell of ash,
the silken line of poetry
(in things we shared) becomes
gimcrack expressions
of love

time i wrap up the antiques:
dinner at Valles,
a single dandelion by the Avon,
maples, the first snowflakes,
others, definitions
of love

because
you don't read poetry anymore
and we do not love,
words, written out of time
are but a poor paraphrase
of love

Published in Somewhere, A Tiny Voice (1997)


Postcolonial Web Singapore OV Singaporean Literature David Leo