Asleep on her bed of roses
does she dream of better days
or look back on
the unseemliness
of secret assignations--
foes hiding behind curtains?
Her boy,
conflicted--
father issues
give it time.
But Empty Dreams
of Undiscovered Countries
stretch endlessly before.
No respite,
and so
to the flowers…
He could have erected a monument
to sadness and beauty,
or to her childlike trust in the world at large;
he could have honored
her simplicity…
Instead, Eidolon--
construct of sentiment--
Shadow of self.
She wakes and asks,
“Who is Ophelia?”
The pedestal falls.
He leaves her to fate
and holds fast to his dream of the girl
she might have been.
(Image: Ophelia Among the Flowers, Odilon Redon)
