Life is too short for magnolia

Let’s splash the old walls with new paint

Mix me purples and blues

Like a two day-old bruise

And gold like the robes of a saint

.

Where does it come from, magnolia?

Not from the wild places I’ve been;

Brown eggs in a nest

Bright robin red breast

And oceans of deepest sea-green

.

What is the point of magnolia

When rain is by rainbows replaced?

It’s the space left behind

When colours go blind

It’s like life being leached from a face