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Mary saved our night blooming  

jasmine 

It was dying 

Mary saved our night blooming  

jasmine 

There was a hard freeze one night 

and the jasmine took sick 

Soon it looked like a couple of sticks 

but Mary wanted to save it 

Every day she watered it 

and coaxed a few little green leaves 

from the dry sticks 

I pruned it a bit 

clucking and shaking my head 

but Mary persisted 

Now it’s blooming once again 

by our stairway 

the sweet smell of jasmine rising 

through our kitchen window 

But now Mary is doing poorly 

She’s had a heart attack, a bad back 

a broken hip, a broken arm 

and her bones are porous 

If we could pour water into her 

If we could make her sprout 

green leaves and strong new  

branches 

we would do it in a minute 

but we can’t 

Mary saved our night blooming  

jasmine 

It was dying 

Mary saved our night blooming  

jasmine