flower

my mother says that it was
carnation not
chrysanthemum

whatever the case
you were smart
to wrap it in newspaper
and foolish
to stick the paper together with
scotch tape -
what did you think that is made of?

you were also foolish
to give me
the best conversation
i've had over a coffee table

i think i felt god eye me once
peering from behind
that blue mug of 'regular' coffee

you were foolish because
this conversation has wrapped itself
around my heart -
without any scotch tape, mind you -
and will stay there forever

now all my conversations across
coffee tables
will be measured against this.