The Rhododendron Bush

[mambadumal]

Aflame around the edges,
A phosphoric shade of green
Illuminated by the sky
Like the residue of dreams.
Alive, the leaves above us,
Bright and trembling and wet
Like you and I are trembling
And wet. We’re both afraid and yet,
The leaves are dead beneath us,
Brown and crackling and curled,
And in the wild and wanton wilderness,
In the deserts of the world,

You were mine.

In the rhododendron bush
In summertime.