For Want of a Gardener

The frail young flower
extends tender green shoots
from the ground

wanting air
wanting water
wanting nourishment

finding stagnation
finding dearth
finding famine

withdraws her tendrils
until they toughen
and extend again

ready to find her own sustenance
she spies a new gardener
approaching, hands outstretched

trembling, skeptical
she allows his ministrations
and finds them pleasing

her stem grows strong and smooth
her leaves unfurl to meet the sun
bright shoots of color emerge

he cares for her tenderly
tending away the weeds of her past
and she grows strong and proud

and in her time
he helps her seed to take root
and together they cultivate perfection

but trouble enters the garden
darkness overhead
and parasites attack

not just the flower
but the one who tends her
indeed, he is the most deeply affected

and finally, he is struck down
and as he falls
her stem is sheared in two

sure of her destruction
the broken plant is ready for death
only, her roots are twined with another

the small one
her tender stems only preparing
to make their way to the surface

she must survive
so the tiny flower can live
in fertile soil from the the start

and at the broken place
the again toughened plant
begins to grow and heal

curving both her roots and leaves
around her progeny
she will care for them both

but what is this?
a shadow falls in the garden
her heart quivers in fear

although the one who approaches is large
there is a kind face
and gentle hands reach out tentatively

he is willing to leave
should they tell him to
but what he has to offer them

is tenderness and nourishment
patience and love
this gardener's heart only wants to love and be loved

the toughened plant
and her tender offspring
make the choice

to trust again
to love again
to live again

their leaves unfurl
and reach out to his gentle hands
inviting him in to their garden

to care for them

respecting the work of the one who came before

and himself, to grow in the light of their love

forever