TRANSPOSITIONS

can these lilies be transposed

I asked my grandmother in a waking dream

in between the seams of childhood in a twilight light

light purple it is or later we called it lavender

once we knew the word, the words and the colour of

lavender blue and that little song

I wished I had asked her about that music

the way she looked at it how it lodged in her soul

about music for the pianoforte she seemed to know everything

everything is music I could say I would have said then

or sung in a roundelay

and I did feel without saying it the lilies could be transposed

why not as flowers should have that capability

drifting on the waters of Monet or Debussy perhaps

memorial

leaning toward the sun or under the moon looking different

perfuming the air with silver for as long as the dream time runs.

her Liebestraum.

her hands, christening the keys.

making my Grandfather weep.

mary angela douglas 29 august 2022;28 february 2023