like blood.
Gave me
memories
that never confused me
until now.
The roses look like velvet
nestled there
amid green leaves
unfolding here
in the messy bedroom
full of cigarette butts and scattered thoughts.
After all that has come
after all that has passed
our hands still cling to one another
through the silence of night.
Our dreams maybe still meet
as we lie side by side
on a bed that sometimes seems
too small too offer
any comfort
anymore
with all of this
too familiar company.
Those roses
they remain here this grey morning
after he has left and flown back
far away to some place where the sun
always shines
and history does not change.
He brought me a dozen roses
wrapped in brown paper and hope.
They smell of romance and velvet
far-off youthful advances.
They smell of a perfume
that calls some far-off time
back to mind.
My lover was here -
now there.
Every moment a gesture that evokes memory
every word could bring a thorn
or safety.
We are blooms
tied together with a string
that both constricts
and holds us to make us
into this incredible
breathe-taking
display.
He gave me a dozen velvet roses
wrapped in words like
"i love you"
and "hope" and "stay".
The roses hold their heads up
even now as their very roots have been
chopped neatly away.
Replaced by clean water
in a transparent vase.
Beautiful Roses.
