Image courtesy of The Public Domain Archive
Aspirin for the Roses
We have softened a bit,
the years between our teeth
make a shrill whistle...I never said anything
was forever, only hoped
with both hands held tight.Mother gave instructions
but not on her eventual
demise. We learned,my siblings and I,
how to set a table, check
the weather forecast,but not how to cry.
Aspirin dissolves its chemicals
in tap water, each broken bitclimbs the still-thirsty stems
to flourish and hold
in deep-red blooms,Mother prized above all
how not to cry.
