Yellow Sunglasses and a Black Rose

A Poem by Kejo

She looked funny
Walking down the street
In her pretty Sunday dress
And yellow sunglasses
Carrying a single black rose
That first time
She makes this trip
Every Thursday afternoon
On her lunch break
She's the clerk
At the local corner store
Selling flowers
Worked there since I was young
Old Mrs. Wiltshire is her name
At eighty three years of age
She's seen it all I think
Married at twenty
Had her first child within a year
Two boys, three girls
All good respectable citizens
With good respectable jobs
She wears an old apron
And smiles at you
Whenever you come in the store
She's always there
Everyday of the week
From seven 'till closing time
Except on Thursdays
Right around noon
She takes off her apron
And changes her shoes
And in her Sunday dress and yellow sunglasses
She takes one black rose
And walks out the door
Walking down mainstreet
She smiles at you
And continues on her way
Nobody asks anymore
Where she goes
We all know anyway
She walks down to the graveyard
Down to the far side
And places that black rose on the ground
Then stands there and smiles
But only for a while
Before turning and walking away
We know who he is
The man in that grave
But only mentioned in whispers is he
The father of her children
The man of her life
The drunk of the town is he
He died on a Thursday
His funeral on Sunday
She wore all black that day
Except, for one thing
Those glasses you see
She wore them that day too
And now every Thursday
She walks down to see him
And everyone wonders why
Well this last Thursday
I followed her down there
And watched from a distance you see
And to my surprise
Before my own eyes
She spoke to him one last time
Goodbye my dear
Never you fear
Everything is alright
You see you are dead now
And no longer with us
And oh how happy I am
No more booze
I won't loose
Anymore time to you
That's why every Thursday
I come down and celebrate
And give you that rose you see
A black rose just like
You're mom used to grow
The ones that you hated so much
But now I grow tired
So this is the last
Time I will see forever
And with that she left
And wonder I did
Why no one ever thought of this