This eucalyptus,
with its elliptical leaves

dangling, light and dry
as an abandoned chrysalis,

with its modest bunches
of pale pink flowers

and languid pose,
is my unattainable ideal.

Of a piece,
in pieces,

past it all
and in plain view —

nowhere
in the blasted web

of stars

is there any
such beauty.

-- RAE ARMANTROUT