you stand against
an open window

i can barely discern
the outline of your body

merged with light
it becomes light itself

powdery and fragrant
like talc

the foreground
is a vase of tulips

a lavender-blue
light strikes

and disperses
from their stalks

still life with woman

who writes poems
and buys herself
flowers

she likes the
calm proportions

what stirs inside
their closed tulip hearts

Seema Chopra