EMPTY MATCHBOX [NOIR POETRY 365]

EMPTY MATCHBOX

[The Gnome of the Rose]

Rose is not her name

No flowers would do

But those that catch

Flies and suck their

Bank accounts dry

He likes to sit 

Close to the pond 

Pretend he's back

At the garden’s center 

Dreams he's got

A chance in hell

Like before 

Fakes a smile

Ignores the empty 

Matchbox 

No money

No matches

No names

Murky waters reflect

Just one more 

Beaten down 

Clay gnome

. . .