What The Flowers Remember

Mourning walls

Walls that cry

For love that lived and love that died. For dreams deferred and dreams denied. Love that withered into the bowels of the earth like autumn leaves in autumn mud. Grass comes in spring, but hides the death beneath.

Mourning walls.

Walls that cry from lack of sleep. From fear. From terror. From violent light. From Coke splattered on the walls and holes in the plaster. Nerves re-wiring and signals firing. Lightning over eyelids. Slamming doors. Familiar doors. They are always yours.

Mourning walls.

Crying from emptiness. Bodies lying motionless. On dirty carpets and hard mattresses. In the dark and in the afternoon light. TV on and tv off. Facebook messages forcing their way through. Forced empathy and apology.

Mourning walls.

Rosaries prayed and decades touched. Glory Bes and Hail Marys bringing sleep. Going deep. Chaplets and prayer cards and Bibles against bone. Concussion undiagnosed. I hide. I groan.

Mourning walls

Laptops and Lean Pockets. Vodka and criss-cross. Threatened statuses. Announcements not made. Dark hallways and bitter slaps. Betrayal and pleading. My heart is bleeding.

Mourning Walls

Paws that scratch at glass. Nails that click and retract. Wet bowls and plaster Lucifer. Tunnels and toys and cuddling. Desperate meows in the dead of night. Wind and storms and Heaven unite. Morning bright. I call but there’s no light.

Mourning walls

Fathers and Turkeys and knocks at doors. Hairy arms and hands that slap and grab. Tears and threats and Bibles open on coverlets. Threats and calls that aren’t made. CPS. Nickelback in smoky garages. Love of my life declarations unrequited. A girl forever ruined. Forever a girl.

Mourning walls

Malice Toward None, Charity for All (by me)