I hope, Miss Cicely, that the flowers are to your liking.
We picked them fresh for you, like we have every day
since before the turn of the century. I know sometimes
the world lets living things wither first before admitting
how it invigorated them. And, well, these flowers too are
ephemeral… but I think the myrtles are a nice touch.
They will remain green across the winter and once
they pass, your home will be ever sacredly embalmed
in a green love. I hope you smell that, and I hope
you got to smell all the flowers while they were
fresh at your door whenever you opened it to
enter, and when you finally opened it to go.
Yasmina Nuny Silva is a writer and poet from Guinea-Bissau with a background in Political Economy and African Studies. Some of her work is published in EuroNews Green and World Politics Review, and she has performed at events like Sofar Sounds and TEDx University of Birmingham.
