One illuminated flower

I wonder, if God had known,
would she have made
illuminated flowers
to brighten hearts
overwhelmed with dark and loss;
special combinations --
perhaps a dahlia,
and a rose --
that could, at the touch of an empty hand,
irradiate a soul,
turn the dark blood reds
to a deep spruce,
trees of joy to breathe light
into the somber shadows;
sunshine to light a fire
in a cold and lifeless hearth;
color to illuminate the corners
of the newly emptied room
where, having found one missing shoe
a mother clasps it to her chest,
weeping.


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