I only laughed,
As at a gauche mistake,
When I learned we had paid
With innocent counterfeit–
That such carnival, confetti,
Festival of flamingo fun,
We had danced for nothing spent:
So much brightness
All out of nothing!
But when I learned of my awkwardness—
Mistaking the denomination, color, design
Of a little word you gave me!—
And of the bright shapes of dreams
Germinated in my heart
All out of nothing,
I could not laugh any more;
For there was a sharp severing of slender unseen roots,
And that fruit which they bore
Fell dangling and bruised
From the tendrils and the vine.
Leave a Reply