The Flower

Douglas Calder

Years have been spent

Searching for it

And then I find

The perfect flower

I admire it

And appreciate it

For all that it has to offer

But I do not protect it

In fact, I pluck off petals

And carelessly cast them aside

In time of storm

I do not shelter it

Rather I protect another

I give my attentions to

A less deserving flower

Yet not a flower at all

It is a weed

Distracting me

Poisoning me

But the flower remains

The petals it still carries

Ravaged by winds of a storm

It should never have been subjected to

I return to the flower

To tend to it

To nurse it back to health

Hoping it is not too late

To salvage this once beautiful flower

And all that it represents