do you miss it?
an apple fell on your head and you called it magic
a bird took flight
simple nature
simple desire

i made a wall
not of bricks
never of stone
of leaves
of cherry blossoms the color of snow
the color of blood

all yours
all mine

my door had no key but you made one
and found me deep in the soil
stretching vines across the stakes
soft
muted green
your bandana matched with mine
a flag i should have seen
a rose-colored warning to heed

but you took my hands in yours and made us a flower
you planted it in the hole i had made
and it grew it grew it grew

the thorns receded

and i made my vines into a daisy crown for your head

the sun came in again
you brought it with you, that’s what i saw
you were warmth, you were fire and ember and spark
everywhere you stepped you left a path of verde
de flores
de agua de sol de ti

you taught me the language of the seeds and the buds
you taught me
me importas
te quiero
te amo
you taught me more than i could ever
have hoped to know
before you
because what was color without the sun?

but newton’s third law
the shadow came again

the words remained in me
in my garden
in its ashes

you let them go