Mausoleum Market

Each leaf of out-of-season

lettuce drips epitaphs to the 

topsoil. Each curve of maroon

grape swells a threnody

in the shape of the clouds

we choked. Each tent echoes

the dirge of the sirocco

surging too hot for the hands

who fell for the mirage 

of our gleaming master’s scythe. 

Hide as we might, our fabrics

fade under the indifferent 

sun. Our hungry rays

burrow deeper in search

of another aquifer to avoid

the dark lines of our stripes.

Thank you to sonja ringo for the prompt that I used today. You can check out sonja ringo's Escapril prompts here.

Thank you to Wiki Art for the fair use version of the painting "The Pollution of the Water" by Remedios Varo, which you can access here.