• vermontpoetess submitted a contest entry to Group logo of What would the old version of you say to the new version of you?What would the old version of you say to the new version of you? 2 months, 2 weeks ago

    To My Past Self: Grandma's Funeral is But a Shadow of Our Grandson's Future Grief

    Do you remember our first funeral?
    How terror, unnatural poise, and a light blue dress
    bound our fragmented shards
    so tightly that they fused like plates of armor,
    unyielding and permanent—
    a mold to shape past, present, and future experiences?
    Ones devoid of the therapeutic scent of lavender?
    Yeah, me too.
    And we still seek the warm hug of purple blossoms
    underneath a smiling summer sun,
    taunting us from breezes that cannot touch our skin,
    and the reassurance in the face of overwhelming loss and upheaval
    that we will be okay because we are loved.
    And we are. Loved. Okay.
    Despite being an unrecognizable lump of tarnished metal
    electroplated and reforged too many times to count,
    bits of funerary fabric adding a mosaic of color to the gray,
    we are strong and beautiful like Vermont wildflowers—
    a sea of scents swaying among long, emerald grasses,
    infusing the wind that rushes from now to then
    with a healing perfume that will cease to exist after we are gone
    and leave him in a molten suit gasping for air.

    Style Score: 100

    Necia Campbell

    Voting starts July 2, 2025 12:00am

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