Like waves lapping the surf,
ruffled white petals
of brush strokes converge
at the core, where luminous
lavender radiates outward.
Its youth will last,
glistening in oil,
unlike the peony outside my window
which will slowly brown
and bow to the ground.Maria Ligos’ work has appeared in The Mad Poets Review, Philadelphia Poets, & will be published in the Spring, 2005 issue of The Mid America Poetry Review.