Thorns and Blood

The roses glisten in the dawn Their petals wet the air turned cold You stand there knowing what’s beyond A truth you never meant to hold The weight of years hangs on your frame Your shadow bending with the strain Though no one ever spoke his name The earth here knows your deepest pain The blooms are bright too bold too red Their perfume sharp too sweet to breathe You stare remembering what you said The night you left him here beneath Your hand extends the petals soft But thorns remind you where they lead The sting comes quick your hand aloft Drips crimson tears the earth will feed Each drop falls heavy on the ground A mark that time cannot erase You hear the silence all around And feel the garden’s strange embrace His voice returns it always does A whisper carried on the breeze You thought that death could bury us Our love’s a shadow none can leave You clench your fists you close your eyes But still his words curl through the air The roots beneath seem hypnotized Their twisted hands pull everywhere You fall before the grave you made Your knees against the yielding dirt Forgive me cracks the prayer you prayed Your heart laid bare beneath its hurt The roses bend as if they see Their blooms aglow with deeper hue They sway though there’s no wind or plea And drink the tears you offer too The morning fades the light recedes The garden swallows all you gave And still the roots hold all your deeds Each secret buried in the grave