hibiscus

By Zoe S. - 2024

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I looked outside my window last week

Saw flushed tones of red and pink, a shocking sight.

My garden is usually dried, bleak, and gray

But there was one flower that stood…

It seemed to be confused,

Not sure which color it wants to take…

It takes a beautiful warm color when it wants to be seen,

A passionate red, surging with aphrodisiac,

Or a vibrant pink, with love in its roots.

Yet turns gray and hides when it does not.

I looked outside my window yesterday

There was another flower beside my confused friend,

It was bright… beautiful… magnificent.

My flower couldn’t hide anymore

I looked outside my window today

They were both gray

Their roots intertwined

And the flowers both died

I tried to pluck them

Their roots stuck too far...

They couldn’t be replanted

So I left them.

I silently cursed myself for planting them in the first place;

The flower that couldn’t choose,

And the flower that holds my heart.