The pure rose
Knows no soil
It grows on an alter
To itself. Petals unwilting
Roots white
As angels' tusks.
The pure rose
Feeds on no dew
It distills, rather,
A nectar of silence
Is nourished on light
On light of a luminous vacuum
The pure rose
Knows no hue
Its petals white
As whitest stars
I shall plant
The pure rose
Within the walls
Of oblivion's garden
Where it shall birth
A white weather
-John Sandbach
