It's Still Life

Collage

1.
Planted new climbers last week. Roses. 
Yellow and peachy pink. They’re already 
reaching up the trellis. Already aphids. 

2.
Lettuces, tomatoes and lupins, and one 
red fox. Innumerable cats, And there’s 
a dying patch of grass, thanks to the fox.

3.
All I remember of my first grade teacher 
is her pearls rolling across the floor. She 
had a broom. We assumed she could fly. 

4.
My gran’s rosary. She was Baptist. 
Thought a rosary was a necklace. 
Bought it at the village church fête. 

5.
Pressed wildflowers in a cookbook. 
Had to argue that they weren’t weeds. 
Once pressed, what to do with them. 

6.
A button from a coat I no longer have. 
The button is pretty though. It looks 
like old ivory, but it’s not though. 

7.
My fingernails are black with organic 
matter. That’s like mulch, with roots 
and shit. Rain refilled the birdbath. 

8.
An ancient pottery shard and a seashell. 
Sometimes I avoid verbs,  just so I can 
take a long nap and dream of roses.

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For Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie: Delve into your personal habits and customs. Artwork created using AI Midjourney. The featured image is only viewable in a browser or in WordPress’s app. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.