Violets

Violets

There was a spot where without fail
They appeared in patches the color
Of their name. South side of the house,
Under unremarkable honeysuckle. 
Brave flowers the color of kings’ robes.
Snow still abiding in the dark places.
They rose like the bruises on his lover’s
Arms one morning after dancing. 
Where’d you get these? he asked.
From you, probably, he said, 
Then kissed him to keep him
From asking any more questions.
They both knew the first symptoms. 
The wincing body aches, the coughing 
That kept them both awake 
All night, weakness on the stairs.
Then the test. Astonishment 
At the different results. 
Nights he tried in order to prove
He wasn’t afraid, only to be denied.
Hospital bedsheets like snow abiding
In the dark places. How he came to hate
The stink of the flowers friends sent,
Afraid to visit. But now, as he waits
In the pharmacy line to pick up the pills 
That keep him from catching it
Years later, he remembers him
Dying in a garden.