twenty one blooming roses-

"You're just looking for attention"
they said
when he stretched out his arms / butterscotch skin as jarred as his hazy edged memory / when the honey whiskey took over slurred syllables and rose tints led him to bleed over thorns / when he drove over cotton candy hearts in sunset mustangs.

twenty one wilting pansies-

"Because you wore that skirt"
they said
when she came home bruised like film negatives / when records scathed bubblegum skies like hidden scars peeping from peppermint eyes / icarus wings and suicidal winds / when she stomped sugar plum boots over  flavoured innocence.

twenty one dead sunflowers-

"Because girls like girls like boys do"
she said
when coffee breath fogged sugar glass /
dusted pink with fervent faith and peach bruised bliss / when licorice scents wafted in abandoned spaces / high waisted denim shorts in nostalgic diners / when she twisted fresh picked daises into high held nooses.

twenty one flares shooting skyward
twenty one sirens blaring home
twenty one missed calls
twenty one unreads

"Yet we were just twenty one seconds too late."