rose of anonymity rose
of my lost way
setting aside your
incomplete legends
I attribute to you
these few rose quotations
may you forgive my
sighs incarnadine; rose
of a depth so singular
burning tigers cannot
rend you but
if they should, your
martyred shadow still
will be
beyond the dimming
battle lines
unfolding my last heart.
the word most dazzling I
dedicate to you wherever
it is the poem that
flares on its own
matchless as your clear Artisan
in a swirl of lost calligraphy
my small bright universe enfolded
crimson beyond all crimsons
register every shade
addressing and enduring
every negligent age
mary angela douglas 17 november 2008
