on the shelf a pretty plate
hand painted with scalloped trim
must patiently await
one who’ll see the tiny serafim
sitting silver winged and diaphanous
around its mildly decorated rim
who won’t mind the op shop dragoness
with little time for those who gape
and wonder why this sweet largesse
of faded purple moon drop grape
cascading over a chartreuse pear
and two lemons of wobbly shape
rendered by unmarried Auntie Clare
a wedding gift for a much-loved niece
her dream expressed on chinaware
of Sicilian tables under shady trees
is gathering dust at Newtown Vinnies
