Roses

 
 
 

On a fetid street
 
a boy with three white roses
 
begs me to buy one.

Pebble

 
 
 

First day of the month—
 
I place a small white pebble
 
on my father’s grave.

Gardener

 
 
 

In a fine drizzle
 
the Mexican gardener
 
prunes the white roses.

After

 
 
 

after the party
 
a white linen tablecloth
 
dappled with red wine

Saucer

 
 
 

in the white saucer
 
only a smidgen of milk
 
for the feral cat

Laundry

 
 
 

hanging up laundry
 
on a windy afternoon—
 
one white sheet escapes

Vendor

 
 
 

Near the graveyard gate
 
a flower vendor offers
 
white chrysanthemums.

Dust

 
 
 

On the kitchen shelf
 
dust settles in the white cup
 
like a tired old cat.

Cloud

 
 
 

A cumulus cloud,
 
shaped like a white stallion’s head,
 
crumbles in the wind.

Fragrance

 
 

from white plum blossoms
 
and the print shop down the street—
 
an inky fragrance