The Six Gardens of Metaphor
– for Tommy
One is a wood of a single tree
a branch with metal leaves attached
by way of a copper beech.
One is a river
a length of brown ribbon tied to
a needle of pure gold.
One is an ocean
sea-heath and sea-holly
with an undertow of moss.
One is a mountain
a stretch of centuries
within a pebble’s reach.
One is mist in a hollow
an acer over gravel
raked to a new day.
One is the future
readied for you
behind this bamboo screen.