another spring
confirmed
my need to leave
here
lives of loves
were dashed
in spring
and now
now
I cannot smell the sweet acacia
see the lupine blooms
without recalling
death
and toxin’s spread
that comes with spring
Inspired by real events, and Isadora’s out of standard prompt at IGwRT
remember me
to children I bore
I shan’t survive
this rebellion
I’ve lived and loved
on terms, my own
neither miscreant nor felon
but I chose a path
deviating from norm
hell-fires rain
or ’tis heaven
*Written for Trifecta: Trifexta Week 60 ~ remember, rain, rebellion 
Walking this land is a treacherous endeavor
Barbs and bites strike out
And leave their mark
Sweet Acacia,
Cat-claw thorn adorned
Snags, grabs, breaks clean, digs deep in flesh
Diamondbacks hide near,
‘Neath purple muhly grass
Most often overlooked, but when not, death
Gila monsters lumber out,
Steer clear of gripping jaws
They bite on rare occasion, won’t let go
Spry jumping cholla,
Its cousin teddy bear
With spiny, break-’way segments covered in snow
They all leave their mark
Barbs and bites strike out
A treacherous endeavor, walking this land
And yet I do.
Cure!
We plead! Hear!
Hear our prayer!
Father, Dear!
Cure
Conveys this vessel
Consumptive
To the precipice
To the edge
Commanding a view
Of the valley below
Where the shadow
O’ercasts ledge to ledge
It is here that cells die
Or, perhaps multiply,
Where the will plunges down
Or soars high
It is here
That the cure
Will adhere or demure
Despite when compared
More severe
To be sure
To the illness employed to deny
Existence
It is here
We learn
That our answer to prayer
Was a gauntlet with a gift.
Endure.
*Written for Verse First ~ The Cure at Poets United.
I see the flare
of illumination,
the semi-auto sparks
I hear dark silence set in,
move toward me
as anxiety arcs
I smell the fat
from too-lean bodies
burning a block away
I taste death
acrid, biting, bitter
this cold January day
I feel the trigger
of my M4, comfort,
in a frightening way
I envision
the future, just minutes ahead,
know a choice can now be made
I settle the muzzle
just under my chin
squeeze hard, my last card played
Empowered, I didn’t let them kill me.
Process Notes: