http://slow.writerscafe.org/RoseLeaves The original writings of author Anna en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1776046145 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15 In the fireIt was impossible Not to love the hands That ripped me out--And now I feel them On my wrists.The pull of his Shoulders, my weight Heavy on the Sidewalk, under The overhang--Like the smoke In my lungs. Phantoms in the Dusk of all .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2924181/ Berdychiv, my home I miss you inconsolably.A line drawn down Inside of me Pulls a weight, I cannot bear.The same sidewalk does not Linger, gone in the summer The ash-fall, the winter that Follows me everywhere. Little hands, little facesChalk, leaves, scent of smok.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2924179/ I dye my hair blackI love the way it feels The way my hands stainFrom it; my soul Stained in the songs Of my never-ending youth.The blackbirds outside Call me through The window High in the oak trees And content with Changing places, nights And rotating f.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2906945/ For the times when I Was soft toward youAnd spoke endlessly in Starlight tones, out of tune Guitar strings, baskets full of summer strawberries and hope for your childhood Dreams, I was honest--I never lied once.In fact, I never lied At all; no traces of red E.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2906935/ Nothing captures the sting of getting close, never closer, and falling away like a shared cigarette half-gone on the sidewalk. A touch from my lips to yours. An almost-kiss. An almost-everything, a streetlight backdrop and not a smoke closer to anything real.The only memorial for the love of hopeles.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2906928/ Submerged in the heat waves Of a long summer, an even longer June, I spell all my thoughts Backwards between shady lines On damp corners of newspapers--Lonely on a bus stop benchBy the seawall.You slip between the shadows Of the world when it stops movingPast midnight on the.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2895430/ Where there were glints of light In the distant horizon, passing Through funeral wakes, buildingsDecaying in the morning mist--Ivy drawing life deep into the bonesOf places forgotten-- I wander aimless For figures no one's ever seen.For shadows in the dawn-strikeBy luck and persevera.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2894605/ The pale introversion paints the morning stillness. A tender moment in the kitchen. It's 7 o'clock. I'm teaching you to make a crepe because your mother and father never did. In the warm air, sweet with strawberries in the summer; I feel like the simple joy lasts forever. But it never does. My god, .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2893676/ I felt his hand against my cheekA tear path paving lines in my sleep--Love found itself growing in those Crow's feet, like dandelions on the sidewalk.I paid no attention to the birdsIn my garden all day, and all night Owls watched the window where The candles always sit. I felt h.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2893674/ I could make a guitar weep Make a violin scream A loving voice, a beckon To grief If I knew how to play them. I watch the Orchestra Through a screen Instead. Paint my nails black Walk the alleyAnd seek that pain Behind the Jazz club. Where the b.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2879829/ Is it okay to Break the promise When it becomes cruel--?If I am backed into Agreeing.Swarmed by reasons I can't confirm Or deny.Is it okay to Let go of you In some way asYou use this against me--?I am not cruelMaybe sometimes Unfair and irritableBut I love you.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2878774/ My brain hurts Inside my head But the streetlights are Dim yellowing andFar between.Say hello nonverbally To ghosts andThe anxious dead.I walk on the side of The street I normallyNever would.Shaking from hunger And bad nerves Like bad dogs and Out-of-date soft.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2878163/ I’ve changed.Jasmine has taken over The garden wall.The wrought iron fence Stands against me--A house facing EastOn the cemetery streetYellow with timeAnd mold, and rainwater.Orange trees Are not extinct Nor do they grow solitary In the summer. But they’ve c.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2877955/ We are good peopleOf this I’m certain.And so I need you to talkWhen the sun Comes in through the Pale curtains.Over your dark tea Quiet lips and darting eyes--I will not hurt youAt least Not on purpose.We are good peopleAnd your hands Are warm Over my chest. .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2877950/ I tried to save youAnd though full of reasonsI’m not certain why--In the middle of everythingI gave up but I did try.Maybe it’s the scent of Dandelions that I miss.Something blissful about Being this homesick for this.I dove after you in groves Of black walnut treesTearing.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2877323/ I know it’s a lot to ask But could you love me later The way you do now--?Could you hold onto me for me When I’m not around--?Just the softness of your Skin on my skin Makes me wonder about Impossible places and All the ifs and whens.I know it’s a.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2877319/ What is it to love--If not painful and destructiveIf not indescribableIncomparable to the sight?The lean on the sidewalk Dandelions growing In cracks, in the dark metro.Warm skin at first lightBlood on scraped knees Something more than humanMore than we know. As aching often does.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2877062/ I think of the moment I fail you I lose my gripOn this proverbial cliff;In your eyesDo I sink faster Than you imagined I would?Does the way I die Disappoint you?Can I perfectly befit youOne last timeAs I fall from Your grace--My dignity is absent By the chime Of my.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2877035/ Take Interstate 35 and driveUntil the gas runs out Or you get a flatAnd leave yourself stranded--Abandoned on the long Dark highways of Texas.Somewhere near Laredo And somewhere in the AstralIn falling stars Over the windy desertThat climbs the hills forever.Emptiness behind&nbsp.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2876864/ There’s a bridge over Troubled water somewhere Between here and The mark of Absolution.In good tidings In good, warm memory But the fear remains--Dead in the eyesOf birds in their nestsOn Angel Point.Wrought iron beamsMayhem in the night And the cicadas sing.Stuck on .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2876858/ No one loves you for your grit That goes unexpressed In the quiet of your room--By candlelight and pressed deep Into the lines of your palms. The broken window Still glittering across the floor Mingling in drops of liquor; It all goes away The minute their eye.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2876589/ The thoughts of you Make me sick and anxious--And so I’d rather not Think of you at all. But you come back to me Day in and day out To plead for forgivenessOn matters that deserve none.And you know I don’t forgive you.I’ve settled the dust Over th.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2876581/ I did not start my sentences Without the values that I held--I did not start friendships Without a heart to go onward.But the snow is falling In Hampshire tonight. Where the rain was warmAnd oak trees oldIn the songs of summer.After then even after All the summers of my life.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2876577/ My skin sticks to the sleeves Of every jacket I wear--I sleep so much that I don’t have time to rest.The heart beats bareParallel to the thoughtsAnd worlds, worlds of nothing Deep inside my chest.The conscience begs For sole recognition--Even in the brilliant lightI can&rsq.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2875895/ I knew a houseIn the woods--By the river and Not far fromFoggy mountains.Sage shutters Banging in theComing storm--Eternity inAll the chronicles Of spiders and Their cobwebs.I knew a face Much shorter So much softer Than mine.A woman on The tall stairs--Wrapped in.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2874891/ I know that it doesn't lookLike much--The cold and angry wind Goes by howling across my skinLike this and I Feel whole again.I can reach out my hands Close my eyes And the shadows wispOver meAlmost like the willows Of a quiet cemetery.All I want In the moment passing--But.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2874621/ Mortality has haunted me From a dark green shrub And all the shadows betweenHer perfect leaves--On my heel thereafter But always polite In the moments I escaped Certain tragedy. It was behind my back Leaning over to read The paper and Watch me make tea.&n.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2874577/ The namelessHeavy moment I felt forgiveness.After I’d fallenHundreds and hundreds Of moments--From which I had no Respite.I’ve been willing To be damned Naked before God.Now and everyUnthreaded thoughtAfter--After. I remember it all With no title N.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2866252/ When you are unaccompaniedBy madness Who do you blame for the hurt--? A soundless cavernStill makes an echoBut my mind is lonely andEchoes say nothing new. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2866249/ I pale in the night Just the wound of a person--The phantom of a nameCast in the shadow of Raindrops down the gutterOf an old porch. Cigarettes smoking between The skin of my bones Held like The only lightFor miles, for miles. Agony is still under my nails Han.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2863035/ I am exhausted In a way that I Can almost not describe--Except that it aches And drowns And still, swims around Inside the cavity The deep hollow Of my chest.I am holding myself Up by petals White magnolias Bruising--Under the weightOf my heartThe vi.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862654/ I heard the same bird This morningCooing in a tree somewhere. The rain slides downYour window And I remember The midsummer park�"Wiping the berry stains Onto my jeansCrayon marks, andMustang grapes. There is hope in the Slant of light Falling from .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862498/ When you leave me I can tell you two thingsFor certain.I will have loved you Loved you despairingly�"And I will be there Anytime you need me.I will be at your side In a whisper, in the middle Of the night.I come to your callAs my chest has hollowed To make r.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862497/ What other greater misery Is there than loving someone�"?It plunges deep enoughTo carve out any doubt thatI might be capable of letting go. My claws are deeper in youThan the wound you place in me.My mind is full of you�"All things fall off of shelves To make r.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862496/ I want you to miss me So painfully�"That a fire becomes you Burns you into ashes That look just like mine. Become a torch Whose flames are present For the love lostNot dead, but whole In the pitch of you.When all is gone�"Miss me so dreadful.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862495/ Close the distance between us�" The narrow path Strewn with stars In the deepening ocean. I see the space between Your fingers The gap between your Arm and your waist.I see the fury That exists between usAnd the heat In the middle with you.&nb.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862342/ Her long blonde hair Tangles In my memory�"Knife never sharpEnoughTo cut throughEvery strand.She's wrapped around My heartThe smell of oak trees In my lungs andAching in the pit Of my throat. Daffodils in the rain In my eyesIn my hands and Under my.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862341/ I absolutely meant Every single word I said. When it was growing dark And the sea of stars Rolled onward Into the vast open nothingThat you so loved�"You were so in love And not with me But the glittering prisms All around us. I meant every wo.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862339/ There is an old lantern Swinging by the gentle hands Of the wind pushingOn and on, into the Grotto.The wax long melted From a candle down to Wick and iron.I have the imprints Of your laughter in it. The stained glass Cracked but holding upThe echoes of usWhen time .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2862336/ The dark red fruit of the summer Strawberries, deep Painfully swollen like The infection in the wound. The flesh spread overThe shadowy cherryOn my tongue. Skin thin, fragrant blossoms Fade into warm air.As the grass grows greenAnd thick and full of lifeIt slowly wither.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2861632/ I was comfortable For a short while Like it would be ok If you saw me in The yellow light�"I thought you saw me White against The falling snowOn manor rooves On cottage shingles.I thought it was about The grass Being greener�"The t.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2861630/ I have wanted to love you In a way that would be enoughIn a way that you would like.I have tried to love From the deepest depths Of the trenches in me�"The farther down I swimThe darker it gets. I just haven't got much else. This is the nautical zero It is t.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2843439/ You know I love youYou know, you know I do.Don't take the melody out of me When you know why it's there You know why I'm falling Over myself, out of tune Dragging myself up in the morningTo see you, bleary over tea In the yellow light of this apartment.Outside the streets ar.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2843437/ There are shadows in the wayStarlight, falling suns Inside the black of the velvet Drawing lines across the skyTill Death�"There are shadows in meIn your clover eyes But moonlight guiding Pulling tides, even you and I. My hand is in yours Under the artificia.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2843436/ Why do you put me through this violence?Like tearing down my garden-It took so long to plant and growI don't have the energy for it now when All I am is inconsolable, healing still From wounds that are ages of oak trees old.How can you look at me like that?I have held you in my arms U.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2841325/ There was a lonely orange treeAt the edge of  the woods Where the scent of daffodils Was heavy, after the fresh rain-I lingered there to look For the new oranges Just turning green from The unassuming white blossoms;The quiet orchestra of the grove In a season lost.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2841323/ Girlhood is a tentative thing Unsure if it has room to breathe-Sticking close to solid shadows The comfort of twilight, oftenI find myself carrying her to bed.In the soft morning hoursI call out like a gentle but stern Blurry silhouette of a mother-Hands worn, eyes a duller greenHead .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2840697/ There is something incomplete Walking around Within my rib cage as I Exhale. I'm an unfinished bookWritten all the way But the last lines Missing Waiting in limbo-Paralyzing beauty Is solace Is loneliness But togetherness is exactlyLike this too.Ther.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2840694/ Holding me in your front yard The wind in my hair Trailing it gently over usVeiling my eyesSplitting the light between Golden strands Weaving irrevocable hurt Into the scent of yourHeavy cologne, before the Heavy rainThat comes to sweep me Away, passing away I.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2840693/ I've attended my own funeral Been buried In every sort of casketWorn to eternal restThe soft white chiffon and Every color but black. The dirt hits the coffin A drum beatIn the summer evening Cicada songs for All the lives I've lived.No one wants to show their&nbsp.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/RoseLeaves/2840692/