As Flowers
cacti in bloom
These flowers bloomed on the cactus plant that danced between both sides of the fence behind the house I grew up in. They would bloom for a couple of nights only and then disappear. Catching them open always felt like you were witnessing magic, and it was a secret that only you and the cactus knew.
Imagine if people behaved as flowers…
as vulnerable but brave,
simple yet intent,
sometimes even as good for you.
As easy to sit next to…
as quiet as honest company
and willing at any time to indulge an imagination.
As good’a listener as the rose I weep beside on wounded nights.
As empowering as the iris’ purple pigment
in the morning sun light.
Imagine if our desires were as delicate as their tender petals…
less intrusive, and much more graceful
with the knowledge of our limited time alive.
People…
we’re in no way as poised,
impossibly as pleased,
and hardly ever at ease.
We wear a facade of strength with the skin we are in,
while the gardenia’s armor -
her fragrance of a certain satisfaction -
laughs at time and space.
I wish we could be as the flowers…
by Brittny Charity Valdés