lost in the flower fields

lost in the flower fields

Dorothy Ko

 

laying in little patches of sunlight, 

i cough out gray clouds. 

i watch the clouds 

move slowly across artificial blue,

disappearing into the wind. 

the sun melts the ice off my cheeks,

i shiver in this new warmth. 

 

grass tinted with shades of yellow,

it smells of the color green. 

sunflowers scattered across the field,

dandelions dispersed about. 

 

hues of blush on cheeks and forest creeks blur 

where the flower fields are. 

the colors grab me at once. 

 

i’m running.

running through the fields. 

the tall grass and the flowers and 

          the smell of lavender and

   the wind against the red of my ears and 

     the sun on my face and 

              the soft ground beneath me—

  i’m running,

      i’m laughing, 

                                                  i freeze. 

my lungs thicken. 

my breath fogs in the cold. 

i’m screaming.  

 

the flowers splatter across

the grassy fields. 

the dreamy beauty of it all 

pulls me in and 

shoves me to the ground, 

charcoal clouds painting blue.  

 

and all at once

the flowers coil around my mouth,

and the world returns to ash.