Linda M. Crate- Three Poems

bittersweet october

is here
so winter is coming
to beat the
flowers back into the dust,
but for now
i will accept the transferring of leaves
and their colors
watch them dance;
for they are never truly
dead—
i have watched them dance in the wind
like these memories of mine
of you and me and me and him and of
a friendship with her once
streaming alive with life
now a broken chord,
and sometimes in the remembering it seems
that october not april is the cruelest
month mixing memory
with desire;
flowers wilt and petals fall
like these leaves
dancing in the stream and i want nothing more
than to lose my leaves, to fall into a slumber
and only wake when the flowers
like these leaves
dance again.



flower of the flames

i will be a flower
that refuses to be beaten back into
winter's dust
petals of the prettiest lily
surrender so willingly
laying
in rivers of peace,
but i cannot do the same;
for now is a time
of war
against everything they tell us is truth
because they are dancing
with the devils
they always told us to run from—
i will burn with ultraviolet
light
not even the brightest summer's light
can touch
for i have star dust in my veins
i was not meant to shrink back into the shallows
comfortable and deep,
but to lash out like a cobra
for everyone
too weak and too old to fight against all the wrongs
in this world;
and i will not rest until i've righted some of these
evils in this plane of existence—
for everyone deserves
to live a life of peace and love should they desire to
no one deserves to die
just as no one is asked if they wish to be born;
my petals will forever burn
rough around the edges for all those who remain
voiceless and afraid
because i know what it's like to tremble at the
rustle of my own shadow
but i'm tired of holding back when i was meant
to shine—
i will be a flower of flames and my petals
will never die
no matter how much water they try to use to douse
me out.



i would be autumn

if i had my choice i would
be a tree in autumn
with
leaves of coppery red, brilliant peridot,
bright gold, and fiery orange
fierce and magnificent
with my array
of leaves;
and i would create good memories
to erase all these bad ones
i have of autumn;
am i repulsed by thanksgiving or of october
or november for all these painful
memories?
nay,
but i would like to create some moments
with people in my life that will last
so these fall months are
more sweet than
bitter;
and my leaves would dance
twirl around walkers and lovers as they
dreamed and lived and laughed—
it would embrace friends and enemies and
give even the crying ones peace,
and if i had my choice
it would be now;
but i am but a girl trapped in these limbs
of humanity and so i will be the
vibrancy of autumn
in my heart and radiate the light outward
to burn away all the darkness
haunting everyone
including me.