Roses

A poem by Akonke

Roses don’t fix everything

Roses are not a substitute for my wilted heart

A little compliment for how my feelings bled through my pillow

A little something to make up for how you cheated on me and buried it 6ft underground

All I see are the thorns surrounding the roses

Sharp but not as sharp as your lies digging through every emotion

A fancy dinner wouldn’t buy my lost appetite

The glass of wine you traded for my tears

Instead of scars you left regret

Ones you couldn’t hide in a gauze, so you used the dinner serviette

The flames you burn in my heart, you replaced with the table candles

Roses, wine, serviette, candles

All symbols of my heart

Wilted, bleeding, bruised and now burning

Take me back to where it all begun

Or better still a world you were never born