to José Moreno Villa
Silence thick with lime and myrtle.
Mallows in the windlestraw.
The nun embroiders gillyflowers
on a field of flaxen cloth.
From the grizzled spider lantern
seven prism-birds erupt.
Far away the church is grumbling,
like a bear turned belly-up.
Splendid needlework! How graceful!
On her flaxen tapestry,
she is yearning to