Love, imagine flaming field of Rosette
nebula far and near. From distant view
a perfect flower, folding petals set
among starfield like blossom I’d hand you
for Valentine’s, or entwined silk mantle
centered with blue pearl. Moving closer now,
it seems an angel’s sight of flared pastel
canyon, interior cracked like crusted flow
of some vast, untended mural, at its
heart mystic space, endless glowing sapphires
like moonlight reflecting in your iris,
its dark-azure ocean mingling with fire,
gift of Hephaestus honoring beauty
he foresaw before you stepped from the sea.
Roger Armbrust
February 15, 2010
