For MB

It was springtime
and the grass was green
yet her life was shriveling up
withering away like
dead leaves
while I
sixteen and shy
was the flower peaking through
the grass
contemplating the complexities
of boys
college majors
what lipstick shades make
me pretty...
she told me
her history
an archive of ageless stories
soaking me up with her wisdom
like an April shower

i blossomed that spring of
her dying days
a bond bloomed
between us
one
I still cherish
today,
ten years later