On incarnadine sheets
He paints wishes and hopes
Black-faced characters
That curl and lope
Through a vast landscape
That stretches on and on
He fastens a paper steed to ride upon
For horizons of dreams
Horizons of songs
An artisan labors
Faithful and long
Those birds that chirrup a sweet song
Perhaps they were born with gifts
But the Mockingbird learns tune by tune
Listening to the beauty of others
Note by note he copies and twists
Until his hard work yields a repertoire
As brilliant as the colors of autumn
The light vanishes
But the men toil onwards
Life is an effort
RED GLADIOLA 