Stubborn dandelion, yellowed brilliance unaware that it’s outstayed
the world’s welcome, soaked in still morning light with a pair of
mud-covered Nike runners and soiled dress slacks, watching the colors
you’ve splashed into your beloved garden. There are clumps of dark,
rich soil all over the patio, T-shirt paint-stained from a random project
and a new son to replace your prince who’s long gone; a black and white
Shih Tzu now five years old, sniffing strewn pitchforks and shovels to
find his rightful post by your side. No words are exchanged, no movement
happens. Later, you’ll ignore her complaints about the used insulin
needles, bandages, discarded orange caps and dirty dishes strewn over
the kitchen table but for now, there’s wonder in lush crab apple trees
and raised concrete planters overflowing with vegetables planted last
year. The Morden Blush and Ballerina roses under the back window
don’t argue. It’s hard to imagine motion inside stillness, the subtle way
shadows shift, the graceful way light garnishes the tops of larch, spruce
and ash, the wooden back fence waiting quietly for new paint, the way
sticky yellow fluid drains from a hole cut through your stomach and down
into a plastic bag as time takes on a muted tone, wraps around your world
like fog, softens the sharp edges where we always seem to meet. Soon,
you’ll get dressed in a suit and tie, drive yourself to the clinic to see
a few patients. Maybe you’ll stop at Kentucky Fried on the way home,
or one of those aquarium stores to buy a new fish.
Natasha N. Deonarain is the author of two chapbooks, 50 études for piano (Assure Press Publishing) and urban disorders (Finishing Line Press). She’s the winner of the 2020 Three Sisters Award by NELLE magazine and Best of the Net Nominee by Rogue Agent Journal. Her work has been featured in numerous print and online poetry journals. She was born in South Africa, grew up in Canada and now makes her home in Arizona.