Swans in White Silk

I am a Midas of minutes, greedy for

Swans in white silk to serve as my ladies-in-waiting,

Announced by mallards with rings of emerald,

While on shore, in yellow-ruffled finery,

Crowds of daffodils bow and wave.

I, in my birchbark yacht, sit enrobed in stone-washed lapis lazuli,

Diamonds dripping from the oars I hold as my scepter and mace.

As I float through lily pads of green-veined granite,

I am crowned by sapphire skies with threads of silver,

Studded with the pearls and rubies of dawn.

Amber gleams in the woods; malachite and jade glitter on every branch,

And soon, quite soon, opalesque trout will jump to attention for me.

Only I, with eyes for such wealth, can hoard each jewel of a moment,

But I can teach you to store up your riches,

Even as they, like time, slip through our fingers.