Latent lovers

latent lovers
these bitter petals
that flutter as feathers
down from lofty perch
through stark arms of birch

latent lovers
these weary petals
that faint in hot weather
and drift in surrender sweet
in swift breathy kisses of heat

latent lovers
these withered petals
that are pulled with tether
of warming days in month of May
to sullen soil watching the overhead play

latent lovers
these tired petals
that cascade into nether
and splay across the moist earth
remembering the womb of their birth

latent lovers
no longer these petals
that at my naked feet gather
for they have blessed their mother
and will rise again to ever love another