i bought you flowers once*

that day in the rain
on the Spanish Steps
as i sipped my dark coffee
i remembered you
walking hand in hand
through the open market
ancient on cobblestones
black-cold and dirty
with the tales of so many
who walked before us

purple-bound in tulle
blue and yellow poppies i believe
stamens full of gold
swayed just enough to catch my eye
as you too once did
before your "i do" became "i don't"
and the nimbostratus covered us in gray
like the dust which accumulates
in clusters on this weathered floor
among the dried petals lying there

* for you