Black Ribbons
written by: Emma Wells
Black ribbons
lead me to you,
encircling my hands;
weaving memories;
snagging on life events
as stumbling blocks
in life’s dense forestry.
I search for your voice
but discern only silence
mute nuances of you
are swishes of leaves
comforting balm on cold days
medicinal tinctures
in the hands of the sick.
Your tenacity
lines edges of me,
embroidering swaying skirts
whilst I dance
bohemian hinterlands
bearing feral fringes
with a wild, streak-like glee.
I’m an animal mourner,
teethed and clawed.
Seeking further plains,
tassels dangle from branches;
reaching up, I eye you
in twisted, obsidian knots
aiming to work free
from natural nooses,
locating easy breathing holes.
Yet Fate has come.
I note her dressed
in sombre, funereal black
spinning a silvery coin
in stretched timelessness;
its sides glimmer in moonlight.
She has been patiently powerful:
a goddess donning a charcoal suit
comes to claim you today.
Twittering of birds
hunting for blackberries,
laces nostalgia
whilst I remember you
amidst childhood detritus;
building photo blocks
enshrined by your touch;
each enlightened by your presence.
An aura glows from inside
the gilded frame,
a golden placenta.
- Anne Boleyn - September 15, 2024
- Black Ribbons - June 25, 2024
- Haunt - March 28, 2024
