Robert Francis Bouquets One flower at a time, please however small the face. Two flowers are one flower too many, a distraction. Three flowers in a vase begin to be a little noisy Like cocktail conversation, everybody talking. A crowd of flowers is a crowd of flatterers (forgive me). One flower at a time. I want to hear what it is saying. Robert Francis, Robert Francis: Collected Poems, 1936-1976, University of Massachusetts Press, 1985. Whole Wide World An Anthology of Poems Long As You're Living: Collected Poems (pdf)
Bouquets
One flower at a time, please however small the face. Two flowers are one flower too many, a distraction. Three flowers in a vase begin to be a little noisy Like cocktail conversation, everybody talking. A crowd of flowers is a crowd of flatterers (forgive me). One flower at a time. I want to hear what it is saying.
Robert Francis, Robert Francis: Collected Poems, 1936-1976, University of Massachusetts Press, 1985.