Lily

Like the magpies

She's the one who'll grace parliament

Far before us.

The dreams and aspirations of alternate languages,

Explored together; yet the comparison faced

When phone conversations turn

To what we couldn't possibly know, just yet.

Definitions; those clever remarks.

A debate that is heartfelt, considerate,

Yet can hit close to home in just a swift change to the air.

Secrets kept over distance; growing.

There's that exclusion we find in the times we don't want to admit are hard

Harder than anything we've ever had to face before.

Must life be a race through

To the finish line?

Why must others be left behind?

As the doorways are cracked open

With promises of next year's mysteries,

We could find that grit and grind

To heal and forgive

Within our hearts.

That distance, never compulsory.

But respected, if required;

Isn't it harder to return to what was

When there are better flowers in the garden, now?

Or maybe I misjudge,

Maybe too many petals have wilted

And it is difficult to breathe their pollen

When they've become toxic to you.

I should have known if my colours faded

In your eyes; is this friendship seen as time wasted?

As I head into the dusk-lit forest,

I don't know how to tell you which path to take

It hurts to turn back.

Since I really, honestly shouldn't.

I think there's no point anyway -

But flowers make the journey brighter,

The path feels warmer and fonder.

You don't want to waste this chance

To have flowers beside you

Since this path

Will surround you

Eagerly

With choices made indefinitely

From the cracked compass forgotten about kilometres ago.

We all go through changes; must we

Let slip the things that have grounded us?

Must hesitant, avoided goodbyes get between

What is so hard to find in the dark glare of the path ahead?

I guess that is the choice for the interviewee before us

The one choice made in the comfort of privacy, reading poetry

Addressed to a name not hers, but she would know it by now

That there are messages between each line and verse

Meant specifically for her

Heart to ponder on, however briefly she desires.

I cannot change minds; only break silence.

My truth outspoken; the bridge created

Up to her to make the choice to cross it

And tie the final stitches that were fraying

Or keep unpicking them

Until she realises that crevasses are hard to cross

When there is no bridge to support the

Weight of every aching loss.

- From the Fox.

~

Cover photo is of an Arum Lily. These flowers can represent new beginnings, loss or sympathy. White lilies generally can also represent regret.