AWARE
(Poem by Wendy Howe)
see also the french version



He traces its bloom
like the botanist who sees
a pale genus of flower
coming suddenly alive
                 in the garden.

A white tulip trembles
in the shade of his hand.
Breath slips between tender fingers
and a girl seeks the warm air.

Arching her body
toward the sun, she gives
her bare breast the heat
of a whisper, his whisper

and knows tomorrow
she will be sketched
on a page of vellum,
soft in charcoal and words
                          of love.