A Graveside Kiss

Lilies

     dense and white

     and speckled orange

     soft-stemmed funnels of sorrow

     bundled within a polythene sleeve

lie

     on the mound of churned earth

     that will cover her coffin

we

     thumb paper tissues

     into our palms

     sidle together

     our heads at forty five

     though a more subtle angle

     between your body and mine

     for we are inclined to weep

we each

     lean on the other's arm

     our soft palates each clamped

     against the grief

     tongues tying the tragedy tight

but here

     amongst the cannas and tigers

     a bumble bee

     fumbles one by one into the flower cones

     re-emerges after a moment

     reversing from each powdery trumpet

     pollen like polenta

     dusting its busby black and belisha fur

then

     its forage complete

     now all sweetness is gone

     it rises against the breeze

     and flies close

     between your shoulder

     and your ear

you

     flinch

     and shudder

     as the wing-disturbed air

     broaches your neck

     an intimate breath

     a whispered kiss

     at the graveside