Hana no Niwa by Michael L. Utley

Image Source: Canva Pro

In the restless nights

In the small flower garden

Spider lilies weep

Mournful beneath midnight moon

Dreaming higanbana dreams

They cry in silence

Do they know for whom they grieve

Do they remember

It was you who planted them

It was you who gave them life

They are not alone

In the soil of memories

In their moonlit tears

In my hana no niwa

In my place of remembrance

Magenta sweet peas

Bow their heads and bid farewell

To the one whose hands

Long-fingered and delicate

Caressed suitopi blooms

When the frost has come

Ivory chrysanthemums

Lay to rest your name

In autumnal kiku tombs

In dark chambers of my heart

In the pallid glow

Of tsuki and winter stars

Camellias die

Shed their crimson petals in

Snowy tsubaki lament

In the spring voices

Of sakura sing of you

Cherry blossoms mark

Your fleeting days in the sun

When skies were forever blue

In opposing climes

Doleful daffodils remain

Solemn sunflowers

Suisen, himawari

Pay respects with humble hearts

There’s a hidden place

In my hana no niwa

In my broken heart

Where my love for you still grows

Flowers bloom eternally

You are always there

Kneeling in the fertile loam

Under summer sun

Tending our flower garden

Where skies are forever blue

*hana no niwa – garden of flowers

-MICHAEL L. UTLEY

Mike is a deaf writer/photographer who lives in rural southwest Colorado, USA.  His love of nature shines through his poetry and photography, both of which he uses to make sense of his world.

Please visit Silent Pariah to read and view more of his wonderful work.

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