Tulip/Guitar

Upside down, the neck
is a tulip stem, long and firm.
It sounds like hope tonight.

For me, the body of every
tulip is the fragrant top,
all by itself, cupped, curvy.

Carlos inked the entire
circle around his sound hole
with purple tulips—folky.

You’ll want to wrap your hands
around a tulip like the body
of a guitar and just stroke

and hum. I’d make a pick
out of your stem. Every
tulip tunes ears, frees sound.

When a tulip dies, I hear
at night everlasting notes
vibrating the strings.