Ricocheting Tableaux
The margins of the manuscripts are filled
With wonders, painted rhapsodies of flowers
And fictive leaves. The vellum sheets are trilled
With monks’ imaginings. A Book of Hours
Has farming in the Très Riches fields of France
And yet our eyes are drawn to border plants
Scriptorium paint brushes filled with prance
Of blossoms and of foliage like chants
Of color, petals. Très Belles leaf~lets, blooms
And curving vines more lovely than the walls
Of castles in the scene or painted rooms
Of feasting with those nobles in their halls.
We cannot help but think of England’s gems
With roots by hedgerows with their floral hems.
~ Phillip Whidden
