University of Virginia Library


17

HELICHRYSUM

Its whiteness speaks of edelweiss,
the white above another white,
and dusty millers' downy eyes
which hold and feed upon the light;
as if to iridescent flour
a pearl were pestled in a shell;
its petals, the mysterious flower,
are scales and pearls and light as well;
or petals of an English rose
were mirrored in a silver dish.
The pearly flower grows and grows
and tells for years the giver's wish.