The Flowers

The flowers you gave me are rotting
And still I refuse to throw them away
Some of the bulbs never opened quite fully
They might so I'm waiting and staying awake

Things I have loved
I'm allowed to keep
I'll never know if I go to sleep

The papers around me are piling and twisting
Regina, the paperback mummy
What then?
I'm taking the knife to the books that I own
And chopping and chopping
And boiling soup from stones

Things I have loved
I'm allowed to keep
I'll never know if I go to sleep

Things I have loved
I'm allowed to keep
I'll never know if I go to sleep