lilies, sparrows and grass

My Father and the Jasmine Flowers

street waifs
stringing white flowers
into long, fragrant necklaces,
plucked them from the sky
shook them from the tall green bushes
until they fell like rain upon the grass —-
 
jasmine necklaces sold
for devout señoras to wear
at Flores de Mayo processions
five centavos for all that work,
three
if señoras haggled long enough —-

were you one of the little ones
hands baked by the sun,
wide-eyed,
barefoot,
hungry?

how time comes and leaves
so swiftly
as in half a breath,
as in a hurried dream,
and for whatever
reason there may have been
I came to be —-

older folks would tell me
you walked miles to school,
no centavos for a ride,
and your classmates laughed and sneered
as they rode the bus and passed you by,
you walked on
carrying your dreams 
in your heart.

how time comes and leaves
so swiftly
as in half a breath,
as in a hurried dream,
and you are gone —-

tonight
as I recall the tales of folks
from long ago
I drench my pillow
with the fragrant tears
of white jasmine flowers
through the midnight hours,
into the break of dawn.

D. G. Vachal © 2024

Image by Oom Endro @ Pixabay