I perished, but, sadly, failed to die:

A flower in a lonely mason jar,

My petals wilting, falling on granite,

My stem stooping over, hunching on the rim.

I cannot remember which fool put me here....

You were so soft, on December afternoons.

Body like a cushion where you'd let me rest my head

while we cuddled, toasty, in bed.

But now, this room feels empty,

and the air is cold without respite,

and I find myself drifting from lonely day to lonely night....

Russel sat curled up against Vivian, who held a cool, damp cloth to his feverish forehead. An alarm in the kitchen chirped, and Vivian set the cloth down and untangled himself from the covers and Russel's arms. He was soon to return with two small bowls of steaming vegetable soup, one of which he handed to his husband with a tender kiss to his forehead.

They sat together in bed all afternoon, wat...

"Cassie."

She turns around. "Why so serious, Jules? It..." She trails off, her smile fading slightly. "Hey. You okay?"

I don't bother to wipe the single tear from my cheek, stepping forward and wrapping my arms tightly around her, burying my face in her shoulder. She returns my embrace, her shoulders sinking slightly in resignation when she realizes...

"...so this is it?" she asks. "Goodbye?" T...

Dead roses, wilting

In a pitiful display

Metaphorical

In the glossy vase

Where they were when he left me

Slowly decaying

Petals falling down

One by one, now crumbling, dust

Like the two of us...

The clock had just hit twelve in the small town of Shady Hollow, and all was bathed in an inky darkness. The only light came from a low crescent moon, and here and there it cast its pale light through the window of a quiet shop, and lay as a shaft upon the floor.

In one such shaft of light sat a mannequin, her white canvas form draped in a vintage dress, a frilly white sunhat placed upon her fac...