if you give me a wooden rose
i will treasure it
and be prideful
i will sing songs in a hoarse voice
and show it to strangers
it will contain my entire worth in its grainy body
it will be that way for years

if it rained on me i would not get wet
i will be one with nature and she will favor me thus
it has always been this way

my children will have the names abigail and elizabeth
and if one is a girl i shall call her tempesta
because i love the name my grandmother gave me
i love the blood that makes me italian
i want my daughter to feel the same
even if her last name must be o'reilly or henderson

if you bring me yellow flowers
i will plant a kiss on your spirit
i will hope that you sense its worth
the blossoms i will press in my favorite book, where the sidewalk ends
to find them when i am older
and to smile when i remember the night you held open the doors for me

if we make a family i will keep my name
for the tempestas are a proud famiglia
i will love you and my children just the same
but it is my name and that is important

and when i am old if we have not met again since graduation
i shall show my grandchildren the rose that saved their nonna's faith in humanity
and so made their lives possible
after many generations the cedar rose will be legendary
and will soothe babies into sleep

and we will be quietly satisfied

01/27/2002

Posted on 01/27/2002
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