Unmet Expectations
I didn’t know I
would
Grow to bloom
to be cut.
But I also
didn’t know-
I’d love how big she
smiled
When she looked at
all my petals. . .
The whole sun in her
one expression.
Or that I’d feel such
purpose
Held in the hands of
a gardener,
Gently transferred to
the water
To be seen on her
kitchen table.
Time slips away, or
does it really?
Didn’t it also give me
her smile?
A chance to be with
the gardener?
Grew, then bloomed,
was cut, then held.
I’ve been spent, and
I’ve been seen.
Lived with such great
light all along.
This is a vase,
not a coffin.
-S.V.F.
