From the old trunk I lift the blue brocade
dress of my great grandmother—her “Sunday best”—
when she was a young girl.

I slip it over my head and close
each mother-of-pearl button
over my torso, smooth out the flowing folds,

hold out my hand and escort myself
into her garden, the one filled
with magnolia trees.

A million magenta buds begin to flower.

Published Over a Threshold of Roots, Sandra Larson, Pudding House Chapbook Series, 2007