My Mirror Garden

From the hot sweat of wild rose—
neon pink blot like the cyclamen
that startled the young me in the cool
forest of Alps,

to the trampled honeysuckle rush—
two deer, curved bodies, outstretched necks
and heads flashing by in heat
on my suburban hill.

From the just-awakened June lupine,
the purple perianth climbing up,
a pregnant belly popping out in its petal
envelope, swelling into fruit,

to the off-white butterflies clasped
on the freshly dug patch
where clover spread yesterday,

I am budding, blooming, ripening
in my mirror garden,
transformed by each scent,
tingling in my soles not touching the earth.

Danuta  writes poems and prose, translates between English and Polish, and enjoys  artistic photography. Her poems have been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies in the USA, Poland, and Ireland. Her photographs have been featured in several shows in galleries in Maryland, where she resides, and in Poland. Her translations of poems by three Maryland Poets Laureate – Lucille Clifton, Josephine Jacobsen, and Linda Pastan – have been published in Poland;  translations of poems by Lidia Kosk,  and Ernest Bryll  have appeared in over 50 journal and anthology publications in the U.S.A.