Clarisse McClellan

Clarisse McClellan, you are beautiful
A white dress fluttering around the pale
Legs that dance to an unheard melody
Face vivid like the night moon

Clarisse McClellan, your eyes are like mirrors
I see my reflections in them as you watch me
And I wonder who I really am
And who you are to me

Clarisse McClellan, you are a wood-sprite
You know what it means when
Dandelions leave a yellow glow under your chin
You are in love, it means, with whom?

Clarisse McClellan, you know that rain
Tastes like wine, when you open your mouth to it
And that dandelions bloom in the yards in autumn
And you dance, and walk, and stay up all night just to watch the sun rise

Clarisse McClellan, you asked questions of life
Did not want the given answers poured
Into your head with a funnel at classes
You wanted to seek the truth and share it with me

Clarisse McClellan, you were quick
But not enough to escape the raging machine
You hated how fast and nosily they moved
And died, still disliking it, still knowing that dandelions know if you are in love,
Leaving a golden glow under your chin

And now I am crying for you
So good and so innocent in this vast world
And I wonder, if the tears will taste like wine…