Flowers In Blue Vase

This blue vase
So rough to the touch

Beneath my fingertips
The leaves are velvet tongues

Still life of zinnias
Daffodils and marigolds
Arrange the view
On blue linen tablecloth

Outside
Behind the window pane
Dreamscapes glisten

The earth beckons
Beyond the cultivated fields
To chance our way
Through groves of thickest darkness

See the empty barn
Its dark blind eye

See the fields of nettles
Bloodying the purple hills,
Crowned with silver clouds

Between these blooms
And that faraway light
The years ripple

Back to the center
Pieces on another table

In another time
Of another place
We once called home.

Josie Di Sciascio-Andrews has written seven collections of poetry and two non-fiction books. Her work appears in various journals and anthologies among which: Canadian Literature, The Malahat Review, The Canada Literary Review, Acta Victoriana, Canadian Poetry Review and The Blue Nib. Her poetry won first prize in the 2023 International Poetry Prize in Rome’s Antonio De Ferraris contest. Her poem “The First Time I Heard Leonard Cohen'' was nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. Josie is a member of The League of Canadian Poets, the Ontario Poetry Society, the Italian Canadian Writers Association and The Heliconian Club. She teaches workshops for Poetry in Voice and is the host & coordinator of The Oakville Literary Cafe series.