Will you marry me?

he asks

and she says no

will I see you again

he asks

and still it's no

so he steals the rose

that she loved

more than him

and keeps it safe

in her memory

 

Time passes

again he sees her

older

and in his lover's eyes

more beautiful

she does not know

he saved her rose

framed

under glass

"like a fly in amber"

preserving his love

 

She allows him

to love her

but not to take

her picture

she does not want

to be

preserved

or contained

by his love

she tried to love him

but couldn't see

herself

in the idol he worshipped

 

And so again

he was left

to faded roses

old photos

and fading memories

recording his pain

in comforting ink

His pen

his oldest longtime mistress

accepting him again

 

And now the rose hangs

a hemisphere away

in space and time

on a stranger's wall

the actors long dead

having lived out

their roles

to fragile age

alone

and the rose hangs

reminding the stranger

of love long lost

and memory preserved