GEORGIA O’KEEFE’S EXTREMELY EDIBLE FLOWERS

 

“I want a whole garden of the flower that you are,”

that was what I wanted to tell you.

I don’t remember what I really said,

something about Van Gogh or Monet

and nearsightedness, if I had to guess.

 

we stood on every side of the barn, dwarfed,

engulfed by reproductions of famous artwork.

we hadn’t planned to come here, but we saw

the installation as we were driving past and thought,

heck, why not. We do love art.

 

the wind cuts and you pull me close for just a moment.

there’s ice on the puddles and I crack it with careful delight.

I tell you that I always think of creme brulee and Amelie,

which is one of my favorite movies,

if only because it saves me a lot of time and explanations.

 

months later even summer can’t match the warmth

of standing at your side and losing my sense of scale.

flowers bloom on my palette as I try to name these feelings.

 

maybe there’s more to this than Georgia O’Keefe’s extremely edible flowers

or the way the sunlight catches the red and silver strands around your smile

 

we’re breaking apart any ordinariness with just a gaze that we share silently

redefining our worlds again in these mirroring moments of contentedness