Wallpaper May as Well be Forever

.

It may be a failure of imagination, but I would not like to live forever—

part of the beauty of this thing is in its certain end

 

a day lily lasts a day, it has its moment of grace,

its brilliance a flash in the pan,

a sanguine explosion as seen from the house

 

but a garden of forever lilies would have the sensual depth
and poignant impact of wallpaper —as spiritually flat as that,

as inclined to be taken for granted, always there

as you glance up making the turn to the hall

 

It’ll be there later, tomorrow, the week after, the month,

the year, until the owner renovates or tears down the house,

long enough to let you get that the worth of a day,

its richness, its color, its grace is, in part, in its brevity:

the knowledge of its sure sunset

 

Jim Culleny
9/9/17