Cemetery Garden: A Cento

In every room
of my home, the candles
had been pinched dark,(1)
my mind spends much of its time
reliving finished conversations. (2)
I think perhaps an apple
is the universe
and your body
is an orchard full of trees, (3)
the bitter taste of half a life.
What if you weren’t afraid? (4)
Which shadow glittered, which shadow
dimmed?
I learned not to regret. (5)
You strangle
on the sweet air, leave
little ghosts of scent
behind you.
You will lean to the earth
alone. (6)

*****

Sources: (Numbered after the line quoted)
(1) Mary Karr, Tropic of Squalor: Poems, “IV. Exodus: Bolt Action”
(2) Kait Mauro, A Body I Could Crawl Into: Poems, “This is a poem for the war”
(3) Melissa Studdard, I Ate the Cosmos For Breakfast, “We are the Universe”
(4) Buddy Odell, Cemetery…