Broken Periwinkle

Periwinkle bokeh, image from the Flowers group in Google+

for ester g. dipasupil whose garden is lovely

at first glance i read the description
of a fallen flower as 
"periwinkle broken"

my eyes moved closer
inspecting it & watching out for scars
or a broken edge on its petals

only for me to pull back
only for me to smile
to myself on seeing 
its name was 
something else

how many times 
have i walked the isolated
spots in this city i still love
& encountered the fallen 
the flowers the leaves the brittle
branches the pine needles
all ready for the gardeners'
compost heap
if they bother at all 
to sweep them up

but today
during my early stroll
along cyber-highway
a periwinkle paused
then posed like an odalisque
to say "hello"

--Babeth Lolarga
Baguio City
6:44 a.m.