Choices

Daffodils

~*~*~

It was the rain that came down,
like a flood of suppressed emotions,
having altercations over which
would be the first drop
to touch the virgin ground.
No kings were born on lands below,
like cabbages waiting to be discovered,
some fortunate to be stolen,
others tossed into salad bowls.
The water drops gathered, merged,
became a face with a million identities,
yet identical in every respect,
meant to be forgotten,
but remembered nonetheless.
Cold to the touch,
like hands held underwater,
and brought to the surface
for the whiff of a breath.
Soaked to the skin,
she could feel the venom travel
softly down the curve of her spine
and disappear.
What more could she do but wait,
taking in the silence of the words
which were never spoken,
but which the rain whispered in her ears?

Centuries passed,
like vows undertaken,
oaths broken,
and friendships betrayed
for the clink of silver,
all in the span of a second.
Used and abused laid the emotions
attached to the end of a string,
with sticks poking through
their heart and their wings.
Yet always,
fingers reached out to mend
the shattering feelings,
fingers that caressed the forsaken soul,
fingers that healed,
fingers that deceived
and dug in deep with their nails.
Puckered up,
for the taming of the sands of time,
that came and washed away
all unwritten rhymes.
She had forgotten what was no more,
or was it that it never existed,
this petty dime for a dozen souls?
There is a fine line
between memories and dreams,
a tiny thread binding perception to fact,
such was the knowledge she had acquired.

Meandering through cervices
of lies and truth,
there was no end to the follies
played by the mind,
giving more than could be given,
and taking endlessly,
as if resources were infinite.
The guillotine is less cruel,
an execution instrument,
a clean swipe and it is over,
unlike the multiple blows,
life hits one with,
even though each one is worth it.
Dragonflies and daffodils,
more like a drop of sunshine,
coming into her life,
but leaving before she could grab it,
and she learned to believe in nothing.
It was hard to believe that one
could be so alone in this vast universe,
stretching on into infinity.
It was hard to comprehend
the magnitude of the fact
that solitude was one’s best friend
on a planet with seven billion souls.
But it was a choice she said,
not an obligation.

~*~*~