What Becomes of an Untended Garden?
when the leaves of grass yellow
and the vine borers mine
to the squash’s core
and even the hungry hummingbirds
abandon the decapitated Turk’s caps
summer bleaches the bones of spring
yet from the ruins of better days
sunflowers still dance on a faint breeze
green days will come again
Butterfly Lies
My children do not hear my rants:
how Candy Land is infested with ants,
how riding unicorns give saddle sores,
how Baby Shark dies for canned albacore.
I do not want to tell them lies,
But they look up to me with their big eyes
They’re just like mine but in a smaller size.
So, I cocoon the truth until its butterflies
ABOUT:
Everett Cruz (he, they) lives and teaches in Denton, Texas, where he studies creative writing at the University of North Texas. He is a Filipino-American who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. His work has been or will be published in Brave Voices, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Resurrection Magazine, The Minison Project, Marías at Sampaguitas, Stanza Cannon, and Five South. Twitter @EverettCruzIsOK
EDITOR'S SONG PAIRING
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