Bruised Petals

They were brown and squashed and I felt sad

for the lost beauty and trampled vision of perfection

I did not realize until you gently reminded me,

that they were not lost

they were only changing

The days skipped

the sun and rain took turns

to bake and soften the rusting petals

They started to dissolve into the red earth of country

and I watched with wonder and curiosity

as the lesson was shared with me

The faded patch of beauty did not mark a grave,

there was no epitaph of grief

It was a celebration of change

The red soil soaked up the melting beauty

and life promised in the sun

We sang and danced

one step nearer

The corolla of our lives,

the spirally journey with this land

The last silken petal drifts

and rests till another morning

stretches and yawns

rubs the sleepiness away and welcomes the sun