By, Wendiann Alfieri
I was given a rose, by my friend the other day
A porcelain rose
It was light as air
But you had to be gentle
One little slip would be detrimental
I went home
And put it on display
A fragile thing
Still beautiful it was
Grazing company would become gazing irony
Everyone afraid to drop it
But still wanted to hold it
But I was the only one
Who really cared if it broke
The company would turn after it broke
And look at something happier
Than the spikes of rose over the floor
Blood spilling on my feet
I was the one who owned it, owned the place
I didn’t own the company
The people thought of as friends, they were
But as the one
Who invited them in
I had to clean up the mess
They so graciously provided
As a memory
To replace the happy one
First given to me to one I still call friend
A while later
I was so young
And with my clique
Gathering around in a mall
They wore heels
And stood tall
Confident and not ready to fall
They encourage me with their eyes
Grazing company would become gazing fools
I turned around
And look in the back
Where there was beautiful heels
This pair was decorated
With little gems and design so sacred
I stepped into them
The perfect fit
Until I saw my friends bored of waiting
Turning around and out the door
As I was trying not to fall
They promised they’d help me stand
The shoes fit perfect
But my balance didn’t
As I fall
One heel breaking
As I fall down
And collapsed on someone elses grounds
It was my responsibility
To make an exchange
Whether it was my fault for breaking merchandise
Or not
Some time later
I was standing
In a crowd
No one who knew me
No one to hate me
And I knew no one
And I hated no one
I dug through my purse it’s my world in my hands
I pulled out some mints
And let them dissolve on my tongue
As the vendors cry
Advertising food
And everyone flocks to them like crows
Dollar bills floating in the wind
As one slips through a mans fingertips
I pocket it
And walk down the crossing path
And walk down to my place
No longer shrouded in mystery
Just a simple building
But I walked past it
And I saw a little convience store
And I opened the door
And the bell dings
To warn them of my awakening
I looked around
I spotted a rack with candies
I looked at the sweets
Jelly beans and Cinnamon candy and cupcakes and chocolate
I picked up my candy of choice
And paid the dollar
And went out on my way
I open the package crinkle crinkle the sound makes
And proceed to enjoy
In a world of cupcakes and chocolate
I’ve never had much to taste
Black Licorice is my choice of candy
The bitter taste grounds me
In a world where bitter doesn’t always outweigh sweet
I grew up in a world of crashes and clash
In a world where everything
Comes at expense
The world may not burn
But the hearts inside us might
Catch on fire
Gasoline equals no chance of flight
In a world where our offspring thrive
We should have apologized
And can not compromise
For we are now the ash they leave behind
The ash we leave behind
The dust on our boots
That we shake outside
To not contaminate
What is left of us
But all I can see
Is the remnants
Through the wind
As I am pushed out
From under
Those fancy heels
But they don’t belong
Here
They never did
Those laughing boys and girls
They used to think they mattered
Now in dust, they too,
Were sentenced
