Dependent Rose Poem by Jasmine Berry

You plucked me from the soiled lips of strangers
Gathered me into your unfamiliar arms
'Till you were my roots, and all that I knew, and home,
And you told me that my wilted little petals were enough.

And you showed me with your every move.

The arm placed around my neck,
The fierce press of your lips to mine,
"I love you" s in the middle of the day, and night,
Drowning me in endearments and niceties,
'Till my self confidence, and my sense of self
Bloomed into a tall, strong, dependent rose.

But I could never be enough.

With my delicate pink petals,
Two soft breasts, two soft lips,
Womanly shoulders, womanly hips,
What a silly little girl to imagine it was just a rose you wanted.

A rose could never be enough.

I'll never be the woman you want when you actually want a man,
And a rose to sit adoringly on some shelf,
To satisfy you sweetly when you're alone,
And be alone when you're not.

Well they said love would hurt,
What a silly little seedling
To sit smiling at a sun that shone over a garden,
I should have died in the shade of the old oak alone.