Cemetery Garden: A Cento

In every room
of my home, the candles
had been pinched dark,(1)
my mind spends much of its time
reliving finished conversations. (2)
I think perhaps an apple
is the universe
and your body
is an orchard full of trees, (3)
the bitter taste of half a life.
What if you weren’t afraid? (4)
Which shadow glittered, which shadow
dimmed?
I learned not to regret. (5)
You strangle
on the sweet air, leave
little ghosts of scent
behind you.
You will lean to the earth
alone. (6)

*****

Sources: (Numbered after the line quoted)
(1) Mary Karr, Tropic of Squalor: Poems, “IV. Exodus: Bolt Action”
(2) Kait Mauro, A Body I Could Crawl Into: Poems, “This is a poem for the war”
(3) Melissa Studdard, I Ate the Cosmos For Breakfast, “We are the Universe”
(4) Birdy Odell, Cemetery Music, pages 36-37
(5) Kelli Russell Agodon, Hourglass Museum, “After Leaving the Floating City”
(6) Julie Kane, Body and Soul, “The Iris Garden”

Prompt via The Wombwell Rainbow

Inspired by Kerfe Roig’s “Everything You Want” – the image was too large to screen print without cutting part off. It can be viewed at the above link.