To blossom is no easy task
As if one waits for the sun to bask

A seed must be planted in fertile soil
And a labor of weeding must be one’s toil

Water must be given, neither too little or too much
And sunlight must warm, but not scorch, and such

One must find just the right place
Neither too lonely, nor too crowded a space

From seed to sprout and beyond, one must grow
Learning, living, and giving all that beauty can bestow

Early buds may be bit by bitter frost
Or self-seeking insects and plants may pick you to accost

If it was only your will or dedication
You’d bloom every day; an easy vocation

But plants only flower at a high price
The expense of devotion to just being nice

Flowers always ever are pure in thought
Competing not, they do what they ought

They give of themselves in color and scent
Being just who they must, their ego’s not bent

Blossoms are defenseless to cutting and stomping
And yet they still open, for love is their prompting

— Bret S. Myers, 1/25/2018 ©