Crystal Vase by Dan Cardoza

Art is magic delivered from the lie of being truth– Theodor W. Adorno

The flowers I clutch are not so much an enigma, 

at least to me. It is my crystal-clear vocation.

I stand as open as an affirmation, with an 

entrusted capacity for emotion, witnessed through 

a crystal lens of equal proportion of antiquities, 

art of science, science of art, Yen & Yang.

If your palette is to bloom joy, say a wedding or 

birth, then I will gladly articulate my choice. Of 

course, long stem red roses will do. They bode 

longevity of life, but may soon be forgotten after 

their allure and dazzle.

Conversely, yet not so effortlessly abandoned, the 

hypnotic orchid should prove a good choice. Say 

in matters of beauty and de mort. Here there 

exists no enigma of apportionment.

Hands down, it is the orchid’s dark peloria 

that can be entrusted to subdue deaths exquisite grief, 

at least for a day or two.

Dan Cardoza has a MS Degree in Education from UC, Sacramento, Calif.  He is the author of four poetry chapbooks and a new book of flash fiction, Second Stories. Recent credits: Adelaide, Cabinet of Heed, California Quarterly, Coffin Bell, Dime Show Review, Door=Jar, Entropy, Esthetic Apostle, Frogmore, Foxglove, Gravel, New Flash Fiction Review, Peeking Cat, Poetry Northwest, Poppy Road Review, Quail Bell, Rabid Oak, Riggwelter, Spelk, and The Stray Branch.