You Gave Me A Canvas

A poem about a love affair that didn't last.

It was summer and we were sat on the park bench,

I pressed violets into the buds of your palms,

And you had just slipped a knife into my pocket.

 

Realising that we had both just promised something

Neither of us could keep, we decided to stay 

Silent, as if the city noise could keep us here.

My mind was racing, speeding along like a train

About to dive off of the tracks. My palms grew hot.

You licked your sweet lips. I tried to swallow my pain.

I watched as you stared at the violets, seeing 

them reflected in your eyes like already dead 

things. Thought about the symbolism of cutting 

Something up in the prime of its life and handing 

It over as a gift to something else you’d cut. 

I wondered if you were feeling that irony. 

Or if you were feeling pain from where I’d cut you. 

Laced your body with scars from the knife you had 

Slipped into my breast pocket as a farewell gift.

Reviews

[Monica Garcia]

Wow! Absolutely brilliant. Several lines keep resonating with me:

"I watched as you stared at the violets, seeing

them reflected in your eyes like already dead

things. Thought about the symbolism of cutting

Something up in the prime of its life and handing

It over as a gift to something else you’d cut.




I wondered if you were feeling that irony. "

I have been exactly here, in this poem, dear god I am so happy to have found this beautiful piece. Thank you.