Indoors

In the month of April, The Standing Desk will showcase four pieces under the “April Flowers” series from Liz James. This is the fourth and final installment of the four works.

Indoors

I can’t keep us alive inside
Stagnant air and artificial sun
Dancing with death in the dark

We never tried to be out
Always in
Defined by doors
That never opened

You withered
Shrinking smaller to accommodate
Losing water
Spilling soil
paler
more frail
Taken like a cancer
You never belonged where I kept you

You let me contain you
But you deserved the earth
You should have let the wind take you
Maybe the rain would never have come
At least you would have seen the sun

Liz James is a 23-year-old poet from Kansas. Their poetry revolves mostly around themes of self-discovery and plant life. They self-published a zine, ‘Rehab for Caffeine Addicts’ in 2015, and have been a featured reader for the Taproom Poetry Series and KU’s Undergraduate Reading Series, which they directed from 2015 until 2017. Liz’s favorite flowers are cornflowers and anemones.