Grief is simpler to grow than people realize.
In a walled garden, plant rapunzel or
A hazel twig. Cry bitterly; salt in tears enriches 
The soil. Fertilize with ravenous desire,
For a child or
For your dead mother. 

If you live beneath the sea, plant rose-colored 
Weeping willows and flowers without fragrance.
Place in your garden a cold marble statue of someone
Who will never love you as you wish to be, 
No matter what your sacrifice.

If you are disciplined enough, plant
Poisonous nettles that, when harvested,
Will blister your hands as you weave
Shirts of salvation for your brothers in
Silence.

If you prefer, you can grow blood-red roses
To entrap a merchant on his way home in a storm.
Build your trellises with cunning,
High enough for thorns
To snatch a cloak and ensnare your catch.

Growing grief is easy, requiring only enough
Ground for heartbreak and enough time to
Nurture sorrow. 
But, if not carefully pruned, it has been known
To spread with abandon.

[Deborah Sage is a native of Kentucky, USA. She has most recently been published in Eternal Haunted Summer, Literary LEO, Fairy Tale Magazine, From the Farther Trees, the 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology , Amethyst Press All Shall Be Well anthology for Julian of Norwich and Eye to the Telescope.]