Ants and Other Insects

The stone ledge was mine
long before the urn appeared.
The dark niche belonged to me
a space I shared
with cracks and cobwebs
ants and other insects.
I meditated on emptiness
the tragedy of life
the hopelessness of humanity
my tears fell into the dust
my laments heard by nobody.
So don’t let the elaborate vase
and her flowers fool you.
Don’t allow the opium of the poppy
dull your senses. 
Don’t be beguiled by the perfume of the roses.
For in these decaying splashes of colour 
and brittle stems in stagnant water
there is no beauty or passion.
Only the silence of stone understands
the delicacy of time
knows a sadness
that can suffer your heart.