Jasmine Marrero
The clouds settle

The clouds settle
like shifting continents
in the early evening sky.
Purple swirls
like the dress she wore,
and the bruises she carried,
and the dead flower petals
that scattered themselves
across the newly tiled floor.

The sky turns into navy.
Like the suit he wore
those nights
when he split her open
and colored her skin purple.
So as he balls up his great palette
he prepares himself
for yet another masterpiece.

<< Back to Issue 4, 2002