From the Garden of Your Genius (A Pantoum)

From the garden of your genius
where promise blooms in cups of fire,
bouquets of broken vows
fall in showers, down

in cups of fire where promise blooms
amid the rain and weed.
Showers falling down
spread shreds of splendid lies

amid the rain and weed
on rusty leaves of peonies.
Spreading shreds of splendid lies
turn to ash and rise

on rusty leaves of peonies
like swarms of fireflies,
turned to ash and rising
in autumn's burning skies.

Like swarms of fireflies
the cinders of your pledges drift
to autumn's burning sky, then
drenched in wine-red mist,

the cinders of your pledges drift
like burnt flowers in descent,
drenched in wine-red mist
and drowned like embers melting.

From burnt flowers in descent,
I pressed your pale apologies
that drowned like embers melting
in pools of brilliant alibis.

I pressed your pale apologies
in pages torn from fallen flames
and pools of brilliant alibis
laid out on rose-soaked hills.

I tore each page of fallen flames
and honey spun from your golden sighs
to be laid out on rose-soaked hills,
arranged in petals, open.

I spun the honey of your golden sighs
around the wonder of your disguise,
arranged in open petals and
hidden from my eyes.

Your wonderful disguise
worn before each blossom turned,
and hidden from my eyes
of longing for one final bloom.