sjsprWriting

The Garden of My Thoughts

By Laura Camila Rivera

When I was fourteen

I had a lovely garden with flowers that put all others to shame

A garden that required my everything to strive

A garden that took all my time

My worries flourished on the far left

Black Dahlias, plaguing every corner of my dazed terrace

More like weeds than they were flowers

More anxious than they were beautiful

Braided and twined, wrapped and consumed

My Black Velvet Petunias thrived

They’d age amongst the Dahlias

Their deep red lust, haunting my garden when I’d feel alone

“Come admire my Black Lillies,” I’d say

Darkened by every mark I made on my skin

Blooming every time I saw myself in them

Nourished with every insecurity

And how could you miss my fears?

How they’d demand your attention

Bat Orchids that grew in the very middle

No other rose dare grow near

When I was fourteen

I had a lovely garden with flowers that put all others to shame

A garden that required my everything to strive

A garden that took all my time

But one day, I decided I had better things to do