NaPoWriMo 29

(Yesterday's PAD challenge was to title a poem "Never (blank)" with you filling in the blank with a word or phrase. Here's my attempt.)


Never Let Them See You Cry


Bury your tears in the yard
with everything else
you hope might grow
into something else.
Let the green stalks rise
to meet the sharp edge
of your pruning shears.
Silence is what you need right now.
Pay no attention to the back-and-forth
of the grackles in their noisy
he said/she said conversation.
What do they know about
the stone in your heart?
What do they know about
the open throats of tulips
choked by rot underneath?

Inside, dinner is on the table
as the afternoon drifts into dusk.
Take the shears and clip forsythia
branches for the dining room table.
Make the room dumb with beauty—
let no one be the wiser.