Salem

With the three sisters in the background
You sent me into the field
Filling my bucket with blackberries
I'd skip home to you
The scent of zucchini bread guiding me
You'd make the jam
Spread on homemade biscuits
Tea and pickled cucumbers
The sweetness of life
Despite the sour
How I want to preserve
Boyhood recollections of you
I want to be a bluebird
On your windowsill in eternity
Willing it so, I am now
Running through the woods
Searching for signs of life
Lost in a memory graveyard
Tripping on vines
Ivy strangles your tombstone
Ravens suspended in air
Demanding payment
Reminding me: "Youth is gone.
Youth is gaaaaawn!"
It was all in my head
I'm left with a pillow
Slobber and sweat
Mason jars, empty as dreams