TULIPS FROM SAINSBURY'S
For Norman, January 2021
In a burst of metaphor.
(he doesn't pretend
to be a poet) he says,
'They're the drama queens
of the flower world, yes?'
slim, so erect, so elegant, with
that stand-offish look, whiite
and yellow, purple and pink.....
yet they die with such dignity.
wide as wings, all arrogance
lost, share their innermost
secrets, show off boot-black
stamens, bend at the knee.
are born for the stage,
know how to turn on theatre,
reluctant to leave, they hold
open their bright skirts, wait
again and again, true
drama queens to the last.
