DIANE

We were wild flowers growing in the same field
sturdy enough to survive flood and drought
Needing no one to give us special care
Tough little rez kids with hearts of petals

Alcohol led you through dark city streets
To dance with foreign shadows on the beach
Silently stealing the life from your blood
He sent you home with a handful of days

Death picked you too early for his bouquet
A blazing wild poppy growing in sand
I missed your wake but sent purple flowers
For your big sister to plant in your stead

You waited in that place just beyond sleep
"You didn't get to say goodbye to me
So I came to you one last time my friend"
Your laughter rumbles across time and death