Endurance
sonnet cleave with Dewi
I shed no tears — mere duty, this bouquet
Of flowers I have no recollection
of longing for another harvest moon
after long winters secede
in grief. We search beyond our reach, they say,
to discover dead wheat beneath starvation
and our regret; it comes, then goes too soon,
to arrive in blooming concrete
where fading murals paint our dreams transpired.
Shops full of thorns cut, and leaves lost
Wild tokens taken prisoner to our whims
Bars of gold drinks, piss, and signs
revealed the secret nights we once desired:
Wrestling leprechauns in jelly sauce
the slaughtered lamb accompanied by hymns.
I walk in squares, by collective design
The fourth dimension opened up to all,
Held to charted sanity a map a touch away
in shadows and in light, and in your name
something else helps me remember scenes
from times gone by. The leaves forever fall,
preserved behind the glass they stay
in silent witness to our blinding shame —
Endless blooms, ever distant sheens.
I’ve taken up with shaking hands this pen —
That purple field, the passing scents
still capturing a vivid splash of when
I reopened letters last spring sent
This piece is part of the Cleave Chain collaboration on Chalkboard. To continue the cleave chain, copy my part of the cleave from the original post here:
The base poem can be found here:
