ORCHIDS

Outside the window snow has thrown its white
Blanket over the spruces, first a foot,
And then another foot, before the Chinook
Briefly thaws to slush, and then an overnight

Boreal plunge encases the limbs in crystal;
And all to prepare for the yard-deep eiderdown
Batts that now bury the branches in Narnian crowns.
The boughs compress to acuter angles encysting

The russet cones, the gray-green needles. Inside
The window a stem of orchids blooms serenely,
Tropical, delicate, purple and pearl, in queenly
Involuted, chaste, balletic pride,

Scentless, aloof, confronting the low chagrin
Of ageless polar frosts and solar winds.

(164, Dec. 14, 1994)

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