love lies bleeding

in the victorian language of flowers
love lies bleeding
means hopelessness

flowers used to be sent as messages
in a time when feelings were not allowed
to be spoken

those victorians in their stiff collars 
stifled in stuffed dresses
hid their romantic notions
in floral dictionaries

floriagraphy
was a form of poetry 
in a time when words that evoked 
intense feeling 
were considered improper
outlandish
eccentric

although those times are long gone
we still hide our tears
choke on words
if they have any meaning
covering ourselves in layers
that we spend a lifetime
longing for someone else to peel away

love lies bleeding 
is a flower for today
as we watch the world die
let's remember
what beauty there is
in hopelessness

 remember
that floral offerings used to exist
because humanity was so stilted and cold
they had to create a new language
so they would not have to speak the words
they actually meant

love lies bleeding
​is the flower given
at the very end
​
its red velvety blooms
hang weeping
like the person who receives them
who undoubtedly knows
there is no future