A Tomb of An Ancient Bloom

You look at me and see a northeast highway after winter Cracked, worn, roughened by conditions not meant to be endured. I was once the most beautiful cobblestone pathway through a garden of ripe, unpicked fruit. I was the apple whose sweet center no man could resist tasting But you see affliction where held addiction. You think my mind feeble, that thoughts slip through my brain Like water through a child's fingers in a sudsy, post-playtime bath. But I was once the network that ran every station in the steel-girded high rise And ran the split level in the suburbs. I never needed to reboot. A victim of time, still in her prime. I look in the mirror and don't understand who that old woman is who gapes back. I have long blonde tresses and eyes that rival Liz Taylor on her best day. This, this is a shadow -- a black and white picture version of a colorful scene. Inside I am 25, still as vibrant as the peacock whose feathers once graced my favorite hat. I'm a tomb . . . of an ancient bloom. February 14,2016.