superficially
a scrape will heal
given time
though some wounds
never heal entirely
what’s left
are scars
some say
have no appeal

a woman bred from German roots
judge and jury, settled disputes
you took in strays and nursed the sick
cared for others through thin and thick

you shouldered all the family weight
made sure to fill up every plate
Sunday meals fit for a queen
your kingdom had everything

tradition built out of routine
back then, we didn’t get the meaning
each moment spent, a precious gift
climbing trees and box car kids

they say that’s how it should be
this ancient turn of phrase
we stand before the alter free
then fog descends, a haze

forget her ‘with this ring i wed’
her thoughts aren’t needed here
after all, she’s the paper doll
reduced. diminished. veneered.

always before
yet never again
a friendship to last
but it’s come to an end

no quick to this fix
can it be fixed at all?
mercy won’t visit
her heart now withdrawn

what are you doing

expecting too much?

forever the curse

of hating oneself

you make bad decisions

can’t help yourself

next thing you know

you’ll end up in a cell

i waited by the maple trees
right by where you said to meet
i sat down under branch and leaf
on top of winding root and littered seed

cold rain drops turn to full sheets
in an instant, like the sky lay weeping
not far away from my own feelings
would he leave me heart broken and reeling?

oh so many
losing the right
to stay in this country
and fight the good fight
women who married
who took the new name
we lose the privilege
as if it’s a game
force abandonment
for god knows how long
how would you feel
coming home
and it’s empty
devoid of love
that once filled up
every room
from ceiling to rug

tall, dark
not quite middle-aged
handsome face
so many shades of grey
he trusted you
to keep him safe
instead - betrayal
and he can’t walk away
the trauma trailing
forever it stays

mirror mirror
why so blue?
a lack of talent
someone saw through?

you see yourself
in a different view
where you stand above
everyone around you

danger lay ahead of her
but her mind deferred
hanging wind chimes
on his every note
on his every word
his voice an echo
seductive and potent
a drug
she can’t get enough of