day has come
and she's dressed in grey
(arrayed in splendour, his words were)
pattering rain applauds her entry
eyes without gazing bless her, never knowing
she opens the letter
and in it finds a petal
she can think of nothing else
for the remainder of the day.

shells
her mother told her
the shore is already wet without your tears, dearie
but she would not listen
she could not understand
why the shells had ventured up to the edge of earth
if she were a shell, she would never emerge
from underneath their soft blanket
it offended her greatly
when little boys came, and, in their boyish way
they would take those lovely shells
and either crush them
or scrape out their contents with juvenile, brittle nails
for the shells, she mourned
for the children, she boiled
her envy for those lovely creatures had long since passed
but her compassion for them grew immensely
humanity is a disruption of the natural order of things.

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Assorted Jams and Jellies