Young Love

A room of flowers You and I, plants— Green and innocent, Passionfruit, our blossoms, And water to sip. Our leaves rustle, And birds sing our song. Young love— What could go wrong?

Companions turn to lovers Breeding desire, breeding hope; We remember it clearly. Our own leaves cocoon us like protectors, Light graces us, And water drips. Butterflies grow envious of our beauty; Carnations bloom in the dark of night— The wind carries their scent. We grow as one. Young love— What could go wrong?

I lost a blossom today, And your passion turns To elderberries. I choke on the rush of water, and your leaves don’t fit the way they use to; You said your leaves were protectors! I remember it clearly. The ground, my savior, Lowers me down; Green turns to brown, Petals fall from the sky, And the last image before my death— The woven stems Of a cage you decorated As love, And that is how it went wrong.

By Zoe Schultz