blood rushes in veins of leaves,
a plant dies under the frost
and winter becomes an unearthly mother
with an abandoned womb.

here in the her barren womb
nothing grows out of love
but hatred perpetuates through roots,
the over dried leaves are epiphany
of the season of ungrateful mothers,
the flower wilt after two days
of unexpected blooming.
is there a limit to understanding
or all the loneliness is just a reminder
of never ending sadness?

late december days slip in my arms
as I hear winter cracking her womb
giving birth to the unapologetic snow
that falls
and falls
and falls
until everything is white
like a widow.

her shrieks shapes the crack on my skin,
i do not welcome those who bully me
for marks, for skin, for wrinkles
for uneducated kins.
i close the door. shut the window too.
the roof breaks.
my plant gets drenched in snow,
and walks barefoot.
his roots craving the vase,
a soil to hold on.
his branches all over my limbs
december slips from my arms
a whisper is heard.
it dies.

winter breaks into a painful laughter
january crawls on the white floor,
a flower wilts,
and blood rushes through veins
another plant dies.

winter is an unearthly mother,
she abandons her kids in snow
and when no one takes them
she curses
while the year slips like an Alziemer patient’s memory
– forgotten in remembrance.

©Sameera Mansuri 2020.