Roses in Arizona

Roses in Arizona

Sam loved his red, red roses,

tending them in the desert

heat by the side of the house.

He’d stand for hours, watching,

breathing in their aroma,

smiling. It’s the colors, he’d

sigh. The colors. I remembered

delicate yellows, too, sitting next

to his shiny coffin under a blazing

blue sky, thinking, colors.

Nothing but colors.

—Paul Lojeski