"Green shivers and chrysanthemum bloom"

Jackie Clark

Green shivers and chrysanthemum bloom
Bought or buoyed

Intention will flatten the affection
At the root of the unease

At root uneasy
Brought forth from the distance

It’s just money after all, the dead will say
The dead who say so many things

A pink starburst potted among a green grass
Flowering until so late in the season

Leaving is what you make it, I was told as a child
A spectacle of remorse or guilt

A hidden map of personal burials
The goodbyes you didn’t know you were making