Narcissi

by Marion McCready

When the March snow fell, the monkey puzzle tree
hallelujahed in the neighbour's garden.

Invisible bushes, ignored
like the homeless in Buchanan Street,
filled out suddenly, became three-dimensional animals
supplicating on either side of the road.

Like a jellyfish bell, the satellite dish hovered
above a long-empty house.
When the snow fell, the narcissi in the garden
bore the weight of fallen clouds.
I saved five for my crystal blue vase.

I picked five narcissi, explored their petals
with my lips. The petals overlap
in a circle of hands, each one laying
across another. Five narcissi in a crystal blue vase
became five hearts beating simultaneously.

The next day, the snow melted. The unexpected safari
became an ordinary street again.
But the narcissi in the window burn brighter;
orange and yellow hot air balloons.
They carry me out of this winter.