One More Time

I sat apart from you on the bench
Knowing that you were going away
Everything felt green, forest green
The air, the wood, the taste in my mouth
The butterfly’s colors faded into immaturity
A seedling unsprouted from the lack of sun
Lay dry and unplanted on the sidewalk
Brown, so very brown and wrinkled

You talked or at least your mouth kept moving
The words stretched out into a sad whisper
Wrapping itself around the blades of grass
Nudging up through fun summer sandals
I wiggled my toes to dislodge the nouns
Slowly pushing away the verbs and adjectives
So the nail polish wouldn’t get smeared
On my red, vibrantly cherry red toenails

The wind played in the loose hair at my ear
Blocking out unpleasant sounds and noises
Of anything that I didn’t want to hear
Like how you were leaving for my sake
But the breeze took the s and left only ake
Winding shhh’s through the collar
Of the crisp white cotton of my shirt
A dozen buttons, 12, all lined up

Patiently I had been waiting for yellow roses
For the postman to deliver desire
Leaving it wrapped in brown craft paper
With a notecard like all florist do
Lying in wait for me after a long day’s toil
Verdant glossy leaves spelling words
Connected to strings controlling
The rise of the sun, warm morning sky

I felt you touch my hand imploring me
To meet your eyes and to understand
Though I could only see that weathers
Had begun to change to less sunny blues
The clouds in the sky darkened pregnant
Rain captured above snow white crests
Released as crystalline tears on hard ground
My heart has done it to me one more time