As She Lies on Her Deathbed
The tulip petals have been turned to pale
Translucent beauty in their death.
The oval petals have become a veil
For ghosts to wear, like fragrance from the breath
Of phantoms. Lavender has faded, dawn
Reduced, a fading caused by dooming light,
Light that dessicates, their strength withdrawn.
It is as if some destiny caused blight
The way that heaven sometimes sends a doom.
A soldier in his unsuspecting youth
Is snipered by destruction like the bloom
The petals clung to. That is ruthless truth.
The petals let the light through as they died.
Their beauty is an unrelenting guide.
~ Phillip Whidden