The Rose Books Of Anatoly Konenko (Final Version) Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

[to the artist Anatoly Konenko and his rose books]*

waiting for the beautiful ship to come
we stood on sinking continents
our eyes flooded with meteor showers

in a compact room
an artist sat
making books out of dried
rosepetals

children in their sleep
waiting for the beautiful ship to come
might never know

the roseleaves he was turning
at precisely the midnight
of the world

bird shadows over the blue
green melting poles could understand;
sensing the end of all auroras

they sang only for him
the artist arranging rose pages
binding with flowers the...
with fine mauve stitching that
would not come undone

rose inscriptions
rose inscriptions
rose inscriptions

was all that God could read
and then the, setting
of, the blossoming Sun.

mary angela douglas 13 june 2009; 29 september 2023

*Anatoly Konenko is a contemporary originally from Russia artist from Omsk who makes tiny books out of dried rosepetals and other things in amazing miniaure editions.. He made a book for his wife out of rosepetals inscribed with Pushkin's poems about roses.
He creates many other miniature lovely books out of other
fantastic materials as well and now lives in Kazhakstan I think.
according to his Wikipedia page. Now also assisted by his son.