The Night Queen Jasmine

Violet velvet, balmy, brisk
Jasmine on the breeze
Stars like diamonds hanging low
But not so low – Oh! They tease!

Walking back from Nana’s house
The shadows satin soft
Street lamps dull but still alive
Crazy insects toss aloft.

And the wafting fragrance
Leaves me in a trance
The Night Queen Jasmine whispers, sighs,
And rustles her sweet scent to the skies.

Nana said she’s but a tree,
Whose perfume spreads at dusk.
But I dreamed in her ancient vines
Fairies dipped their wings in musk.

Then I grew up, and Nana passed
They cut that Night Queen down
A sky-scrape rose to mock the skies
The night a sequined gown.

But that drifting, regal scent
From that fragrant reagent,
Fills my soul – I close my eyes
Diamonds tease from sable skies

No more velvet, clement, cool
The breeze has blown away
Those diamond stars cannot compete
With lights that burn like day.

Nana said you cut one down,
Plant two saplings fair.
You’ll find those seeds in stores galore
But little earth to spare!

So, when my petty worlds collide
And in the Night Queen, I confide,
Jasmine shields my nervous fall
To rest my cares on sweet recall.

© Cindy Pereira