Triptych, September 2020       for Vilma Mendillo

                I

Ashes fall like patches

To the ground,

Exist as biographies

From somewhere,

Yet smear between

My fingertips.

I smudge fur on my hands,

I smudge sage on my hands,

I smudge bone on my hands,

I smudge roots on my hands.

The sun's a russet dime,

And moon, vermillion cent,

Aglow in acrid sky.

                II

Ancient mourners set

Coins on Christ's eyes,

"Widow's Mites"

Mighty offerings,

Imprinted on his shroud,

And rock roses strewn

Around his corpse,

Left delicate auras

In their wake.

                III

Blanket flowers mass

In my patch,

Show hidden patterns

On their petals to bees--

UV signage for generation--

The sun's sovereign again

To reconstituted blue sky.

Pollen sprinkles across raised

Bed of garden,

It dazzles with luteous grains,

Creates implacable swaths

On my palms,

Insists we live anew

Laura Stickney 2020

Notes:

Vermillion is a red color

"Widow's Mites are ancient

Roman coins mentioned in the Bible

UV is ultraviolet light

Sovereign is a gold coin

Luteous is a yellow color

photograph from FEMA