You set fire to a rose
which had been drying for years
with all your rosaries
in an old purse of remembrance
and spoke of how the essence
of fire is everywhere,
just waiting
for space and time to ignite.
We sat quietly in
ancient scent,
a hint of oudh singing
softly beneath it all,
the dust of this
eternal petal
still totally unmoved,
passing from heart to
heart.