Lilac Season [by Stacey Harwood-Lehman]

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May 26, 2019

Lilac Season [by Stacey Harwood-Lehman]

Édouard Manet (1832-1883), White Lilac, oil on canvas circa 1882

Every spring my mother would drive to the abandoned mansion on Carlton Road. The long path leading to the front door was shaded by a canopy of overgrown lilac bushes. She would cut as many as we could hold, reaching ever higher for the biggest and most fragrant flowers. When we arrived home, she arranged them in a cut-glass vase, a wedding gift, and placed the vase on our piano so that it was reflected in the mirror above the staircase.

--sdl

Posted by The Best American Poetry on May 26, 2019 at 02:23 PM in Art, Feature, Stacey Lehman | Permalink

Comments

Mmmmm! THE best. Thank you, Stacey.

Posted by: Mary | May 24, 2020 at 08:12 PM

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"Lively and affectionate" Publishers Weekly

Radio

I left it
on when I
left the house
for the pleasure
of coming back
ten hours later
to the greatness
of Teddy Wilson
"After You've Gone"
on the piano
in the corner
of the bedroom
as I enter
in the dark

from New and Selected Poems by David Lehman