Rose Petals In Fall Poem by Bob Bowers

I look across our garden,
Weed-thick,
Scraggly,
Dried out.

Around the edges
The bright flowers of summer
Fall from broken stems,
Dying.

My gaze caresses this furrowed past,
My thoughts stray,
Wondering at spring’s yesterday,
Now turned fallow fall.

I feel the cold bite of winter
On my cheeks,
Reach out,
Touch a rose’s petal no longer bright with life.

These fading colors
Brought to fullness with my summer’s sweat,
Fertilized with the stink of my mistakes,
Are now only regrets,
Pushing up
From this garden of my life.

12/1/02