Live from Holy Cross: Peter Bricklebank reading Rouben Sevak
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Edelweiss
Peter Bricklebank and Sarah Van Arsdale
Photo by Lola Koundakjian
On my wall, wordless, pale,
covering an unseen nail
its freshness evaporates
as it wilts and browns,
its petals gradually fade
losing its delicate
bouquet. What ill wind
brought it down
from the mountains
to this fate of
crumbling pistils
drooping crowns
as the coiled petals dry,
unclasping to velvet ash?
But still it keeps
the unreached heights
of my dreams in its white
heart of edelweiss.
ROUBEN SEVAK
*A small white herb growing high in the Alps whose name in Armenian is Lion's Paw. It is the symbol for freedom in Austrian and Armenian poetry. Roupen Sevag recovered in the Alps from tuberculosis contracted as a medical student.
From Poetry of our Time
From Poetry of our Time
