Honeysuckle

Tendrils that cunningly twist on the tree,

Threading in sinuous curls in the leaves;

Clasping in breathless abandon to be

Higher than stems where it ardently weaves,

Graceful and artless,

Heartless but fair.

 

Trumpet-like flowers with petals of gold,

With petals of coral and petals of rose;

With feathery fingers that slowly unfold

Disclosing no heart where the petals unclose;

Graceful and artless,

Heartless but fair.

 

Cruel but ardent, tenacious but shy,

Tendrils that cunningly twist on the tree;

Gathered one day, by the next you will die,

Beauty and perfume, a mere memory;

Graceful and artless,

Heartless but fair

 

Weekly Times  21.7.61