Antebellum: #4 Poem by Windsor Guadalupe Jr

Petals that ignite,
Thorns that protrude
Like glinting shards of
Rain
The vicissitude of the
Heavens
The mire of the forked roads
And the quagmire
Trapped in puddles -
No more.

You are hidden
Behind the unshaken
Wooden doors
Your scent lingers
By the foyer.
Your laughter billows
By the halls
Everything about you
Was left by the
Synagogue
And a part of me
Was left in you.

You stormed away
And I can still hear
You here,
Distant,
Wary and harried
By time and
Your duties.
The warfare in me
Rages on,
Continues to implode.

Everything about you
Was trapped in the shutters
Of what I am
And a part of me
Ambiguously lurches
Upon you,
Unnoticed.