I noticed by accident that my cactus
Was in bloom—studded by three
Tiny flowers the color of rubies.
But when I looked at it the next
Morning they were already gone
Like twilight on the mountains
Like a sudden flock of cedar waxwings
Like the glow of a full moon
Like the scent of lilacs
Like a wave on sand
Like a snowflake on a windshield
Like a white-winged butterfly
Like the son you held not
Long ago in the bend of your arms.
