without it

it is a sad story

but what can i do?

i can't kill myself because of this

so i have to learn to live with it

-fabienne jean 31 a haitian dancer who lost her leg to the rubble of the earth quake 2010

3 plants

in my cell

the narcissus
long stemmed
petals already like
fragile cigarette paper
four white pods

an african violet
screaming out

and the comic tragedy
of the clover
having perhaps killed the
bonzai tree
they are temperamental
these clover
they sleep at night
and rise and appear
to enjoy themselves perfectly
in the brightness of the sun
the petals fan out
and are poised in a state
of
sustained glee
then they fold inward as the day darkens

these flowers are my friends
in my cell

we watch winter with
guarded indifference