Kristy Bowen, Untitled (Flowers) (Artist Website)
Mixed media collage
among the dead grass and wild carrot
gathering the pieces of a flower vase
my mother threw herself
into the field the brain’s first reaction to pain
is embrace
rub the bruise wrap the tourniquet
pack the bleed with dirt
and sharp little rocks
we were quickly shattered back into consciousness
with mouthfuls of hard sun
the old windows opened in the summer
the magnolia petals shredded under the lawnmower
filling my nose
words of comfort
sinking weedkiller
the fence pulled from the ground
like a purple vein
deconstruction
reassembly stormclouds captured in the glistening
earth even fury is pieced back together
even the earthworms wet and limbless
wait for the rain to lift their bodies
through the swollen roots and glass
doors