Ring around the rosy

We scoop you up fistful by fistful

spread you evenly among the gardenias and the roses

as we coat your garden with the film of you.

A pocketful of posies

You are now the sooty remains

gathered from the bottom of a fireplace

after a long winter’s night

Ashes, ashes

This is all that’s left,

these hands sifting through

the sand of you,

a requiem.

We all fall down