Indelible Marks of Love

The caretaker of my dreams:
girdled my hearth
with her warm blanket
over the years
covered my bough
with chiseled rings,
reams of indentured pulp,
fibrous stencils
etched with memories
sealed with love

with her nurturing hands
pruned my searching limbs
opened my tender buds
stitched each seam
with chlorophyll-laced dreams
wove in the silken texture
distinct lines baring
the transcript of our love

The fruitful season passed
Fall's chilling winds blew
a long drought ensued
from the hollowing cavity
no nutritious juices flowed
her preening hands lapsed
the frill-enriched garden
became a desolate ward
my custodian became

 the undertaker of my soul:
outside pressures climaxed
a sprouting pestilence
borne by her petty jealousy
breached melded fibers
mildewed the leaves
of our stale book
my silent tears flowed
through the long, cold nights
morphing into ice sickles
still the brittle limbs clung
as the rotting leaves folded
around their indelible lines
beneath the fragile crest
the indentured rings
now girdled a skeleton