For weaving the dewy cobwebs
dawn rays feather into jeweled
necklaces, for bands of warblers
that flit quenching fountains

and sip quicksilver water-globes,
I give thanks, tie string around
drooping tendrils of rosebush,
bolster them with a stake.

Goodbye, fireworks of raspberries
and blackberries, grapevine gazebo
a tabernacle where we lingered
with our treasure of peppermint tea.

Thank you, limestone vase, for
the legacy of gargoyle and pair
of cherubs hovered in balance,
cordial rain collected from the roof.

About the poet: Bruce Lader is the author of Discovering Mortality. A second full-length collection, Landscapes of Longing, is on the way from Main Street Rag Publishing Company. His poems have appeared in Poetry, Roanoke Review, Poet Lore, Potomac Review, New York Quarterly, Confrontation, Margie, and other journals and anthologies. A former writer-in-residence at the Wurlitzer Colony, he is the founding director of Bridges Tutoring, an organization educating multicultural students.