Sunken Gardens

By Olivia Klein

We traverse the garden together,

smell pollen, and feel nostalgic

for your past that I was never a part of.

Petals present themselves in displays

of grandeur, a blossoming beauty

making me hold onto you even tighter.

I do not want to lose you in this growing garden.

We have expanded multitudes since meeting,

our artistry developing like the dancing daisies

at my calf, the one you kiss with a whisper.

I fear weeds, unruly rot, muddled mulch, all the dark

dirt that lingers in a garden, a shroud beneath

vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows of our togetherness.

I lose my grip, dreaming of you, in this cacophony

of colors, gradients of green only a distraction

to the approaching winter known to ice out all life,

an herbicide to the heart.

Olivia Klein is a student at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Olivia has previously been published in the Write Launch Literary Magazine in their May 2021 issue. Olivia spends her time writing poetry, singing songs, and loving her cat, Otis.