Being days late with my blog post, and having been inexplicably visited by a poem this morning, I’m going to imitate Karen (see Dec. 12) and favor you with it. Apologies to non-poetry-fans.

The Taste of the Rose

Here it is imperceptible
That the rough calyx has begun to retreat
And the pink point to encounter the sun.

Here pink folds are still one solid mass
Though already they are crisp and smooth.
The scent is already thick.

Here at the tight center
It is fortunate for me
That I am hardly larger than my egg.

The taste is pink, crisp, smooth, as well as scented
All the way out to the edge of the drooping bud.
Now I encounter air. Now is the time

When the fact of my future wings is clear to me.
It is not my nature to consider
Whether they will be black or bright.