The lush scent of flower flesh
Adorns the dimlit chamber's stillness.
Upon a velvet swathed altar
A single lily arches regally.
Its pearlescent grace lyrically blooms
With pure, ephemeral radiance
Amidst the weave of lambent candlelight.
Gentle stamens stretch to touch the luminous air
And dust its ambient glow in subtle colors.
Exquisite floriate blades curl, serpentine,
'Round spires of silken filament
Until they dip into sepal shadows.
And there, a subversive glance of silver bides.
The immutable metal's hardness is wedged
Through stomal rents in dulcet petalskin,
Deeply conjoining flower and steel in a severe embrace.
The lily elegantly leans into the weight of it,
Softly accepting and compliant.
Vibrant gems, enwrapped by a clutch of metal,
Drape delicately from the rigid silver jewelry
Wedded to the firmly splayed floral spathes.
They whisper resplendently amongst the lily's sensual curves,
A shining testament to the incongruous harmony of conflict.
Captured in this covenant with steel,
The flower's transient beauty
Becomes an eternal vision
Wrought from the alchemy of sublime decadence.
D. Wakefield © 2010