i was a pretty flower
in the sun

you came
and picked me
by the roots

i was so happy
and i gladly sat
in your windowsill
admiring the view

you stopped
watering me
and the clouds
covered the sun

but i didn't die
i grew spines

Dewdrop thread connection,

Solace in another life —


That which fails to speak the tongue

Whose words run slightly,

Burning ginger sounds  

Drowned in ivory screams:


Cease fire for the secret

Is already known.


Leave all by the willow,

River running to the sea

Where it will be forgot;


And heart pounds as waves do,

Stealing breath, staining canvas,

Letting voices speak not in language

B'knownst to human life, but in

Melodic cries of the unseen

Flooding eyes as they close


For each is ever alone.

Your profound indifference speaks to me,
Loud enough to be heard over a hot cup of coffee.

SPRING

I slowly unfurl to the World
Stretching up to the sky blue
And sense an early morning chill
Of Spring waking me anew.
Each day grows a little warmer
As daylight hours extend
Making this leaf feel fresher,
Tothe bright sunlight I bend.

SUMMER

I’m at my most greenest now,
Hot sun burns upon my veins;
How glad am I to finally enjoy
Those cooling, copious rains.
At which point, I pour in drips,
A refreshing, rousing trickle
That falls on grass and buttercup
Teasing them with a tickle.

AUTUMN

Mists have now arrived, enshrouding
My form with heavy dew;
The greens has all but leached away,
Bled from veins no longer new.
Down below the tree are vivid reds
Browns and translucent golds
Which, increasingly each day now
People their captivation holds.

WINTER

The first frost of Winter
And a biting, northerly breeze
Cut into me,and scores of others
Were torn from their trees.
I’ve fallen now, to the ground
All wrinkled, and utterly fragile
Awaiting my final hour
Until, I meet my funeral pile…

Our children see others lie with impunity
Simply blow out the light, darkness perverts civility


© 2020 by Mark Toney. All rights reserved.