all the dead flowers

the girl crying
on the curb, at the end of the
road

has been there for a while.
centuries.

she's the same girl
believing
in princes, in kings, in

ruby slippers
and crowns.

she's delirious, disillusioned.
she believes

in love.
in the prince charming

on the white horse,
the house,
the home.

the picket fence.
she's swallowed
it all.

she believes in the dream,
even now.

in her white dress, aged

and weak,

head bent, crying, sobbing,
weeping,

she believes, she believes,
despite

all the dead flowers.