Pocket of Flowers

by Rigby Celeste

Illustration by Nina Walker

Hyacinths: Balloon columns in ink God stippled on strokes of watercolor green.

Lilies: Umber & gold grown wild. Palid beneath grocery glass, bulbs tip stalks like round fawn knees.

Roses: What oppressor did empress slay to stain your kisses carmine?

Windflowers: A martyr for our families’ jubilee, crushed beneath eager cousins feet & scooter wheels dirty pink.

Mums: Fireworks which remind me of a time I didn’t fear the words “I love you”.

Hydrangeas: Our front porch garden barren, a husband’s promise broken.