Orange Roses

A dream came true today

But was shattered just the same

And I can see it now

A room of pastels

A long line of stern faces

A delicate, submissive vase

Ma’s in her curlers

Putting her head down

Pretending to sleep

Pa’s reassuring quiet

His slippers tidy by the bedside

Putting on a mask of peace

A crease has grown in the mattress

Cause symmetry is strong and clean

I saw this image even clearer

When I set down my wreath

Even more so than when I

Was scrambling for words to speak

Twilight’s glow of life

Was upon the snow that night

And never before have I

Fused so fully with such still silence

I watched my mute shadow

As I glided through the rooms

A vacuous face, but beaming heart

Guided me to a cerebral place

That suddenly paled in comparison

To any word, rhyme, or thought of mine

I lost my sense of touch

As I fondled the key and turned the lock

It was right where it’s always been

Unused, dependable, like clockwork

Unlike me

I sat down in a firm chair that fit like a glove

But I wouldn’t be its heir

Instead I went above to where

Sparks of light shoot and drift

Like a darting pen in the hands

Of a boy who’s yet to learn to write

Here I can’t be picked apart

While there, not a creature stirred

Not even my heart


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