Ashes Denote: Wild Sunflower Stalks

Dried-up remnants from

last year’s flourish

of the brightest, wildest blooms

your petals wrapped the inner darkness

in light

your worn-out bodies

piled high behind the fence

waiting

for winter’s end

for when spring sprung

—and spring she did

arguably, a touch too soon—

the time had come to toss

each one

into the blazing fire.



The only Departed Creature a “fire loves”

as much as an old Christmas Tree

just might be

a hundred old and wrung out

Wild Sunflower Stalks

and tossing them on top

we watched the flames grow higher

every golden ember and every flickering spark

caused me to remember

something else

someone else

who made her final cry in the middle

of September

when every wild sunflower is in

her fullest bloom

my sweetest pup

found her tomb

much

too soon.



She waddled blind by day but

make way

for her at night

a girl without a fright

adventured

way too far

she couldn’t see the car

before it was

far too late

too late for us to chase

our love into the night

unto the unknown way

we found her the very next day

and it was already

far too late.



Truly Madly Deeply

I stand before the fire missing you

because I realize now

that it’s only

Just Your Memory

that

Keeps Ticking On

like memories of dancing to

The Ocean

but now I will never see your

Ocean Eyes

again

and the ache in my body from your

absence just might give me a

Heart Attack

like a

Wandering Child

running wild

you frolicked blindly into my life

without a care

like a promise fulfilled through the

Sparrows and Lilies

He cared

for me by giving me you

but now you’re gone

and when I look at my phone

I hate that there’s no more

Pictures

left to make

of you.

So we wrapped our

Girl in Calico

and covered her body with dirt

six feet below

until she meets me

Here Again

where I stand before the fire

remembering that I’m a

Bad Liar

who could never hide

the truth of you

so this is

The Story I’ll Tell

like the seeds that fell

and hit the ground before we uprooted

every withered stalk

I promise I will talk

about her forever

how she always made me

Happier

and I’ll water the ground with my tears

each spring

after standing before the fire

I Fall Apart

and watch the ashes fall

into dust

and say goodbye

Over And Over

again.