Page-of-Wands

 

Scent the Page

Our Sapphist great grannies
never scented the page.
Their epics were the slim volumes
they branded modern
with strong firm hands.
When I close my eyes to remember
those fragrant afternoons
stroked by their pens,
when you and I were vaguely imagined,
barely glints in their eyes
on the jasmine path before them
that stretched down to the Seine,
all I get is beeswax,
lemon oil on the woodwork,
rose petals in a Chinese vase,
supper on the stove,
their fingers in the bowls.

© 2013 by Suzanne Stroh
All rights reserved