A Wreath for Persephone

I'm missing you so much today my love

I've never seen the Jasmine 
that grows above the front door of my building

bloom so full or smell so overwhelming

as it does today, the first morning 
of the first Spring that you'll be missing.

But I’m glad you don’t have to witness 
this blossoming pandemic, don't have to fear
spreading sickness.

I know you’d be gripped with panic,

and I’d be so worried about you, out there 
in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by all those trees,

trembling beside the rushing creek

alone with your anxiety

I think of your voice on the phone those nights, hysterical

from some actual crisis or imaginary peril
I longed so much to help you, hold you close

but all I could do was listen from a distance

Today my love, I'm missing you so much

I'm sorry that it never was enough

Gaze at those blossoms arcing overhead,

a celestial crown of softly glowing stars.

I breathe in their scent, hoping to cure
this infection of grief that clogs my lungs, 
threatens to stop my heart