The Napowrimo.net prompt for Day 18 was easy to follow. The poem I used for my line-by-line backwards response was ‘Ophelia’ from Janée J. Baugher’s book Coördinates of Yes.
Ophelia’s tears
The emptiness is the hardest part
these hands won’t bring death to flowers
but won’t let them grow
In defiance, they ignore me
I push air through my lips, eyes closed
the blur is complete, detail gone
auburn scent grown stale
I once battled the vines without success
they flowed like current unfettered by breakers
overwhelming the willows
which, really, never stood a chance
Sometimes I think the inevitable is a leech
draining the colors from life
water from leaves and skin
Under cover of encroaching dark
a shroud is left at the foot of the bed
There’s almost nothing left now
the bouquet on the dresser has lost its fragrance
escaped through the crack of light under the door
Nettles and stalks of reed
submerge with the rising creek
Lifeboat remnants float by
poised to sink
wrapped in their watery shrouds
(18 April 2018)
Ordinary Average Thoughts 
“these hands won’t bring death to flowers
but won’t let them grow”
That is just magical. Lovely writing!
Thanks!
magical indeed.
“There’s almost nothing left now” is like a hammer to the head. (K)
Thanks!
Beautiful! Grabs me by the heart. I’ve never thought about it this way, but the inevitable is indeed, a leech. The shroud at the foot of the bed gives me chills.
Thanks. The line was originally less mysterious, but then I removed a detail, and it made the difference.
This had me and kept me. Magical indeed. Seriously good writing
Thanks. I was surprised by the direction and tone the poem took, but that happened to be how I responded to the lines of the poem I was looking at. (That and a few edits before posting.)
Update 4/19/18: As it turned out, Janée J. Baugher was one of the featured poets at a reading I went to tonight (I knew this before I went), so not only did I get to have her sign my copy of the book in which her poem appears, but also I was able to share a copy of my poem with her. So yay!