💐Bouquet for two💐

Alone in a world that condemns, I press into the depths,

Searching for answers that turn my stomach, make me sway.

I wander where certainty thins, where silence speaks,

Learning how loneliness teaches its own cruel grace.

I found someone, thought to be true,

So I said, "Let us make a bouquet anew."

She carried lavender, distance unspoken.

She shook her head, petals left unread,

And wandered on with words unsaid.

I sighed, a little blue crept into my chest,

Yet the sky stayed gold—hope refusing arrest.

What is left to do but gather again,

Hands open, despite the ache of refrain?

Another arrived with a rose, crimson and bold,

His cheeks flushed urgency, a story too quickly told.

I answered with yellow, gentle and kind—

Friendship first, no claim entwined.

His smile wilted; meanings crossed,

A quiet fuss, a moment lost.

People, people, in this crowded world,

Why do you hush what my heart has unfurled?

The need to know, to learn, to grow,

Wrestles with feelings that beg me to go slow.

So I stand with my bouquet, heavy with poppies—

Sleep, remembrance, the weight of maybe.

Roses of yellow and red tangle at the stem,

Desire and caution refusing to separate again.

Lavender lingers, jasmine fades,

Trust still learning which hands will stay.

I do not discard these flowers unmet—