I have a memory
That smells of a garden
Where I first plucked a flower
To romance
To pin on her hair
It was a summer flower
Big in size
Meant for when she swept
Her hair to the left
To station it there
The way they did on celluloid
As the lady love sat behind
As her lover rode a bicycle
Limited was the view from there
He was happy–with his bicycle
And she–with him!
She smelled of a shampoo
I couldn’t identify
Very feminine
Was all that I thought
I wanted to linger
Kiss the hair
So that when she left
She took back
The smell of shampoo
Of flower
And my breathe on it
She laughed harshly instead
Admonished me
For culling God’s creation
Without mercy
Grey Sparrow Journal 