violet

your aperture narrows
as f /our voices deepen
sunlight burns through
exposed cloth shutters
we made you to protect
an us we never realized
would be safe as she is
it’s no decorative pansy
darkrooms reveal stains
& splatters under safety
lightbulb, glowing ruby
our eyes don’t adjust yet
we have twins, don’t we?
is it sisters, not twins?
god, no that’s a different
flower entirely — rosemary