I am the place where the rain

falls all day.

 

It’s a wonder how you turn homage

into an ongoing grievance

 

causing post traumatic apathy disorder

and the end of boudoir politics.

 

It’s true that I don’t know whether

you use a brush or a comb on your hair

 

and maybe I should, but these things

have always been invisible to me.

 

I’m so sorry that your eyes are slowly dying,

blind to the forests of cerise and magenta.

 

You accuse me of loving a distant phantom

living in a cloud of electricity, which I deny

 

but you’ll never know the thousands of times

I’ve so softly whispered her name

 

to revitalize the bodies of cut flowers

and other ragged things laid aside

 

 

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Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Crystal Lake, IL, USA with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a three-time Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best of the Web nominee whose work has appeared in more than a thousand publications.