White and red roses
defend the mother’s coffin:
cherry stained,
her interlocked hands in prayer
draped in veil gauze,
her gold dress
the same she married in,
as the procession of her children
grieves in a black and white flow.
In a black and white flow,
each child lights a votive candle
that reflects the sanctuary lamp,
their tears and prayers—
hating themselves
for the gasping erasure inside,
the love not returned in time.
The love not returned in time
before the tears
of the blue Virgin
praying over her,
black hair
matching black hair,
alabaster hands
blessing burnt
brown ones, anticipating
heaven’s restoration.
Anticipating heaven’s restoration
the congregation
steeple their hands and
chant for her dreams
to true,
her now
motherless children
to rise and stay united.
Rising and staying united
all her children
awkwardly cradle
their old gifted rosaries,
skipping Glory Be’s,
misremembering Our Fathers,
finally hiding in their tears
and the pale oval beads,
the pale ovals of their hands
buried in the vanilla scent
of candy florecitas
half mauled
in sugary communion,
their faith in confection
as strong as
believing their mother
would never die,
believing their dead mother
would always protect them
even while the cancer within
ate her silence and resolve,
finally leaving them living
in a world of dollhouse sermons
and scented flowers with thorns,
scented flowers and thorns
and death marrying death,
matroning childhood,
life in its very pinkness,
child to mother to father
father to mother to child,
until night falls into blackness,
to black rot dusting
even lion and lamb,
lamb and lion
consecrated
to the last letter,
the last letter
of God’s tears,
the tears of now,
until now the tears
are nothing
but the chants of cries,
the song and chants of cries
born sober in the now
and the chant of tears
the tears of chants
and the children kneeling,
others kneeling,
kneeling others,
until there is
only the fall,
only the fall
of kneeling
in the now,
now in the fall
of kneeling
for love of each other
each other now in love,
or thinking they are in love
now with each other,
each other now in love,
knowing they are now in love
or soon will be.
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