of bones and dead gardens by Veronica S.

Tear down the idols and what do you have?

Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

Welcome back to another Poetato Wednesday! Thank you for being here, we always appreciate it. Today we have a piece from someone new —

Veronica S.

She had this to say about herself:

Ever since I was a girl, writing has been an outlet for me. A way to make sense of my emotions and the world around me. Half-written books filled with scrawled words, dozens of journals, songs, and poems—I’ve written all kinds of things. But poetry is what truly speaks to my soul and moves me the most.

Please go check out more of their work. They post poetry frequently. You can find it all here: nighttime musings & hauntings

Today’s feature is the breaking of giant bones and long voices. The flowers wilt. This piece was written on April 30, 2025 and it is fantastic.

of bones and dead gardens

What would you do
if I refused the scraps
you so kindly offered?
Even the gentlest dog
will bite the hand
that starves it.

(I have slept beside you
a thousand moons,
read the warnings
in the sanity of noon.)

If I shredded what we made,
tore it with my own teeth,
would I find blankness?
You are smeared
across the pages of my youth.
What carnage it would be
to unmake you.
Would my heart,
a bloodied pulp,
become a folktale
of bruised violets?

(Old blood runs hotter
than poison water,
a siege of coal fire
where loyalty devours.
I offer you my soft belly;
your face offers me poetry.)

A bone in my mouth.
A halo of gold
dripping from your brow.
Helius, crowned in flame,
kneels before our shroud.

(Midas closes his fist —
his gilded touch
has no purpose
in a ruined garden.)

I tend our scorched soil,
digging my toes
into the brittle earth
of this barren land.

What would I do
without this ache —
flesh-eating, bone-crushing,
a godless altar,
a lifeless maze
where even a beast of prey
recoils in shame?

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Below are some questions Veronica S. answered from the collective

What were you inspirations writing this piece?

This poem came from a place of reckoning. I reflected on doomed relationships and how our brains are wired to survive at any cost, even when that cost is our own humanity. When cornered, we lash out and bare our teeth at those who hurt us. We strike back. This instinct to survive is so deeply ingrained that we don’t always realize what we’re doing until it’s already done.

Is there anything you hope the reader takes away from this?

I hope this poem inspires readers to leave harmful situations and reclaim their freedom.

Do you have any additional thoughts you'd like to share about this piece?

This piece explores the aftermath of surviving a love that blurs into harm. I wanted to give voice to the inner conflict of wanting to stay while knowing it’s in your best interest to let go—the quiet violence of destroying what you once held sacred, and the freedom that comes with reclaiming yourself.

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Overall, this piece is fantastic in its use of flow, rhyme, and rhythm. Everything just works. (shoutout Todd Howard) It gives off a blend of desolation and rage that jumps up into your face. I really enjoyed it.

What really stood out to me was the way the author here uses bracketed stanzas. I love stuff like that and it adds to the entire flow and sound of the piece as a whole. And don’t get me started on these descriptions.

In general, you feel this one. The third stanza was my personal favorite and I love how this alludes to the grand stature of what relationships can bring. While also tearing it all down. Great work.

But dear reader, what are your thoughts on this piece? We would love to know down below in the comments:

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