Petunia

In the garden that flowers petunias in winter

Where the birds never sing

Where the sounds are muffled by the river

When the loves without sound end in the spring

A sound so loud that no one heard

Ears receiving words in those winds

We can't sing like a free bird

Because the only sound of it comes from the wings

The heartbeat that is only felt by its owner

And no one hears as it gets older

A cry of despair in the dew of the gloom

The deafness of a garden that only knows how to bloom

Quiet birds migrating to the sun

A postman arrives with a letter to the throne

The message will never reach the chosen one

Because he is in the garden harvesting petunias alone

Oliver Yeager

11th September 2018