Ice queen, floats
Water laps, erodes a lotus
crown
Jelly bubbles tumble
through caves of pale ice
Stony lips, parted as
though in search of
love,
passion,
or maybe simply
contemplating
their lifeless fate, there in
dark twisted seaweed strands.

Lotus fairy, sinks
Gracefully, a ballerina
in fish tutus, spins
jumps leaps twirls floats
Time stops
in that moment when
feathers fall and
children sleep.

But never again
That perfect moment
fades
Through still air, palpable
sinking like snow padding on
rooftops
Powder settles into dust,
red dust on
lotus leaves
bent askew by water’s
tentacles or maybe
fate’s tentacles
twisting like the seaweed.

Death’s fingers touch bubbles that
are no longer bubbles just jelly
Not beautiful pockets of life streaming
from caves or lips or crowns
Just death
Cold harsh death in that
small
lotus
pool.