Seven Bridge Digital Magazine

Two Poems by Kathleen Granchelli

LILAC

Your fragrance ephemeral
like your namesake, Syringa,
evading the forest god hunting you, 
shapeshifting into lavender abundance— 
one being hidden in another—
a lilac shrub, glorious perennial,
so alive your essence in the air
that earthlings moved by you
defy your genus vulgaris—
rather, flower sui generis
free and fleeting—
no extraction can distill your essence.

Delicate blooms dancing in the breeze, 
heavy, healing, hardy with indoles 
exciting high energy vibrations in
sweet spring air, invisible elegance
your perfume piquing my limbic system, 
a floral infusion of memory—
Mrs. Boyd cutting a bouquet 
there in her garden
giving me lilac clusters 
tangled in vines of love.

 

ON THE WINGS OF CYGNUS

Do you remember
the summer nights
when restlessness 
stirred your precious soul?

I carried you to the skylight, and 
with my palm cradling your hand, 
we traced across
1500 light years
until we found
the celestial swan
flying through the night sky.

We followed star dust
to the Northern Cross,
five bright stars silhouetting 
the waterfowl
with Sadr at its breast, 
Deneb lighting its tail, and 
Albireo calling to you.

We soared by otherworldly shapes— 
fusions of science and myth, 
meeting the deepest nature
of the universe
with the intimacy of our lives.

Our fingers touched the stars 
and inscribed your name 
across the heavens.

And when your enchantment took flight 
on the wings of Cygnus,
there you went, my darling,
sailing through the mist
of the Milky Way
while I prayed on Cassiopeia 
for your starlit life.