Gray

By Cheryl Snell

At dusk, rain streaks the windows with the color
of abandonment. What you know has become
fog and what you never knew ─ the answer
to the question of why the night is not dark
enough, or the reason flowers return ─
it makes you curse the gloom for wavering.
Who planted those blooms anyway? Stems
riddled with sharp stars. Tangled roots.
Why are they so stubborn, coming back here
where they’re not wanted, year after year?

Cheryl Snell is the author of several novels and collections of poetry. Most recently her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Autumn Sky Daily, Eunoia Review, and Clementine Unbound. She lives in Maryland with her husband, whose work often inspires her own.