At all
the wrong turns
and
times, and for the wrong reasons,
we
vowed love
through
false teeth.
You
were looking for a mother
I could
never be, an anesthetic
for
your terminal sicknesses.
And I
was hiding who I was meant to be,
afraid
of myself.
I am
sorry for the mask
and how
long it wore me.
Still, I
am not sure if you are as fatally sorry
for this
headstone you’ve saddled me with.
No
matter—
a dew dropped,
more dark than red, rose
waits on
the doorstep.
Take
it,
I can
live with your ghost no longer.
Plus,
I’m learning what it’s like to be me
without
you
and
how,
finally,
to like
her.
© 2013 Jennifer Wagner
For the
prompts at Poetry Jam: Battles and Poets United: Just Past Center
*A
poem of mine was selected for the dVerse 2nd Anniversary Contest at Boston Poetry Magazine. I’m thrilled to have had
my piece be chosen. Click here to check it out and read the poems of others who placed in the contest. Thank you to all the judges and congrats to
all the winners! Great writing, all.