The Pantoum: The Garden

[_color_me_in]

I remember there were roses -
Oh such exquisite roses -
That grew wildly through the fields
Of the precipices' only house.

Oh! such exquisite roses
Which held the dreams of the children
Of the precipices' only house
As they stood recklessly near the edge

Which held the dreams of us children,
The majestic horizon that we saw
As we stood recklessly near that edge
When we were eight or nine or ten.

The majestic horizon that we saw,
Always filled with shooting stars
When we were eight or nine or ten,
Was lit by Roman candles.

Always filled with shooting stars,
Our dreams of great carousels
Were lit by Roman candles
Even though the sun was out.

In our dreams of great carousels
It was always the orgiastic night
Even though the sun was out.
Yet time has slowly passed.

It was always the orgiastic night
When we were eight or nine or ten,
Yet time has slowly passed
And the roses have since withered.

For when we were eight or nine or ten
We would romp within those roses
But the roses have since withered;
Only one faded rose remains.

We would romp within those roses
Of the stately azure house
Where only one faded rose remains
In the flooding flow of time,

And of that stately azure house,
The paint is slowly chipping
In the flooding flow of time,
But it’s the memories that matter.

Yet the paint is chipping
As if the house itself gave up
But it’s the memories that matter
And all I remember is chipping paint

As if the house itself gave up.
There is a fence around the field
And all I remember is chipping paint
For the dream has ended.

But there is a fence around the field!
I can’t dream up another carnival
Because the dream has ended;
There are no starfish in the sky.

I can’t dream up that majestic carnival
Of carousels and tilt-a-whirls
And all those starfish in the sky
For I’m not eight or nine or even ten.

All of the carousels and tilt-a-whirls
Have faded into the past
For I’m not eight or nine or ten.
All I remember is there were roses.