I have tended to you, now I will boil
your petals in a copper pot; bottle
your essence, put part of it
in a samovar (for later
I will drink you
with my tea). The rest
of you is saved,
not for consumption but
for blessings. Blessings for
the new dawn, the new day.
Norooz is coming—
with spring, a new chance
to overturn the hard earth
of the backyard, to plant new
seeds, to grow fresh
roses. There will be more
next year, for I have saved
a piece of you (with one thorn
attached) and it will help with resurrection.
I will plant it, once
you’ve healed me. You will flourish,
and I will flower.
–
Saba Keramati is a Chinese-Iranian writer from California. She holds degrees in English and Creative Writing from University of Michigan and UC Davis. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize, her work appears or is forthcoming in Michigan Quarterly Review, AGNI, Passages North, and elsewhere. You can follow her on Twitter @sabzi_k.