Dragon Lady

Did you ever try to take back words,
Restring pearls, straighten a curl?
If you did, you’d understand
The fragile case her world was in.

Just as time diminished her color,
Had taken her strength, lost control
Just as years expanded her ability to hate
And her grandchildren knew her bitterness

Just as insulin could not fill her with
Enough sugar for her eyes to share
Even as she fed the body,
Her vinegar spilt down and killed the vine.

Even as the green would fade,
The leaves burnt grey
And the birch trees shed
She would take her damage to the grave.

Black pearl between her teeth,
Old brown cricket by her side
The dogs stood guard
The silence turned evil.

She would die with the Heart of
Peking in Winter.