The Labyrinth, Memory

Do you know the land where the lemon flower blooms?
Mignon's Song, Wilhelm Meister
If shadows could be given substance, filled
with light, they might resemble these clouds
radiating a shining grey that dispels
all shadow. Remembering Goethe's last words —
"More light! More light!' — I wonder if ever
he wished to be consumed by darkness…
Suddenly, I have walked to the tree with
tight green lemons and plucked its sole blossom.
Thick white petals bring to mind
the frangipani of my wedding day, a scent
delicate and harsh, like this. The sun
shifts inside its labyrinth of cloud;
now the pear tree's shadow reappears,
its fringe of moving leaves encompassing me.