turning five into four.

i. gregory,
with his sun-kissed skin & microscopic eyes,
knows not to don rachel's rose-coloured glasses
or take her reality classes.
although he is swimming in disbelief,
he can't help feeling like he's mourning
something that he's not yet lost.

ii. rachel's forte was never gardening.
her family tree could rain its leaves all day
but she will not be the rake, clawing
its way through the earth
to neatly bundle a bouquet;
she can not see ian's pleas
through a rose lens with embers in her eyes.

iii. ian is not afraid to get his hands dirty.
if an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,
then maybe rachel was the sacrifice,
& he will not hesitate to dig deep
to ensure that emily is satisfied.

iv. emily is suffering under the oppression
of a king that she did not bargain for.
every day is her december:
she freezes the touch of each man
at speeds that question if angels roam the earth,
& prays that they do.
with just one blink,
all the colours from her life retired.

v. florence knows what the others do not:
water what you sow & it will grow.
fallen tears become replaced with flowers
& one day, they will meet again.