Aubade with Burning City

“Milkflower petals” appear twice in the poem, on Line 1 (“Milkflower petals on the street / like pieces of a girl’s dress”) and Line 39 (“Milkflower petals on a black dog / like pieces of a girl’s dress”). Small, white, natural, and falling from above, they are a clear Saigon-appropriate allegory for the snow in “White Christmas.” Both milkflower petals and snow have peaceful connotations. While the snow can only appear in lyric form in Saigon, the milkflower petals could be literally present, although they would be out of season. In this way, the milkflower petal is offered as the Saigon-equivalent signal for a cheerful, special time, and the symbol in the poem invokes a sense of irony.

Both times the milkflower petals are mentioned, they’re compared to a girl’s dress. The only other dress in the poem is on the woman in the hotel room. By association, the petal dress extends the girl’s presence beyond the room, bringing her out onto the street and with the dog. This link between the domestic and public spheres blurs the line between them, unifying their experiences.