unrequited

“unrequited” is in NAKED, my chapbook, published by Main Street Rag:

Lester grieves for me

winds his sorrow as a winter scarf around his neck

its tendrils drape across his chest

he cries while his father hugs him

my sister is too dignified

to let tears soak her peach silk blouse

 

I watch the scene from my mirror

roll my eyes

canned music bleeds through speakers

believers raise their hands like sunshined flowers

 

there was no coin to purchase my funeral dress

so I wrapped myself with a deathbed sheet

its drape shrouds my bones

casket closed

 

I float the coffee bean aroma through wallpapered rooms

it fails to veil old lady perfumes, sweat, and aftershaves

my Irish linen tablecloth is stained with spilt tea

littered with cookie and sandwich crumbs

 

Lester walks in the kitchen to grab a banana

but they have leaked their ripeness

not even good for breads or cakes

sticky chocolate-like goo congeals at the bottom of the fruit bowl

 

my hair swept to one side

Lester dreams I kiss him

dark glasses sunscreen my eyes

my sheet sweeps dust bunnies across the plank floor

I carry his unrequited heart in my hand

try not to squeeze as I tiptoe from his bedroom

 

god, I need a Bellini

I listen for the dismissal bell

find the exit sign

I look for me, but I have flown

 

© 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

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Photo credits:

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