I'm Sorry

I'm Sorry

Steps as heavy as a pound of feathers,
slowly descending the never-ending stairs.
It felt like months since Ethel began her descent
after visiting the maiden in black.
Fondant still stains her fingers,
crumbs cover her white blouse,
and the smell of burnt sugar and smoke plagues her senses.
Her eyes, now a floodgate,
while her teeth grit, filing away at her pearly whites.
That night haunts both her dreams and reality—
the maiden’s expression, the voices of pain and disappointment
follow her, fulfilling her wish of never being alone.
Tears flow, the floodgates cracking at the seams.
Now, she sits on the stairs, screaming for absent enjoyers,
with only one thought in her mind—
the maiden’s acceptance of the cake with her voice.
She screamed through the void, hoping the maiden will give her a petal.
Before standing and descending,
continuing to the third and final step from the patio of the maiden’s home,
after her visit minutes earlier.