Haphazard,
They fell out of being
Tied up.
Shrunk by a house’s heat,
Furnaced to prepare
The season’s change.

Impossible to plan,
Improbable to imagine
Without a schematic of the Universe,
Unable to think, to change or readjust
To Fate’s time line.
They could have cried out.

“Passing Stranger, help us.
Capture dew and slake our thirst.
Extend our moments in your world.
We will sing fairy tales of wonderland.
Not paeans of times gone by.”

But, no, Tomorrow’s face
Never smiled their way.
Over, life dried up, blown away,
Each petal
Crackled.
Death came and stayed.

Charlene James
Amissville, Virginia
October, 2017