Friday, February 20, 2009

Roses

I was looking at my ready-to-wilt roses this morning. I plucked one petal off and weaved it through my fingers feeling the silky softness. Roses really are beautiful. Then it occurred to me; Did that hurt? Did the flower feel me desecrate it? Probably not since the flower had been cut. But for argument's sake, let's say it did. Would it feel a pinch similar to when somebody gets a hair pulled from their head?

What if the flower was alive and growing in a pot of soil. Would it feel me rip its petals out? Would it silently cry out or will me to stop killing it?

Do big tall trees feel bald when they lose their leaves? Are they saddened because they have to stand outside in the freezing cold, naked? Do pine trees make fun of them?

Sometimes I feel guilty ripping grass out of the ground, so I try not to when I'm having a picnic or camping or whatever. It feels like I'm ripping out the earth's hair or something. And sometimes the grass is hard to pull out, so you really have to tug on it. It's like the grass doesn't want you to uproot it.

Using the lawnmower is like giving my lawn a haircut. I don't feel bad about doing that. It will grow back.

Watching my roses wilt is bittersweet. I want my roses to be alive and well, but they were dead when I got them. As they decay on my kitchen table, one by one the petals will fall, shrivel, and turn black. I will save them in a jar and remember the time when they were blood red and soft like velvet.

2 comments:

  1. I hope I don't kill my cactus after reading this!!!

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  2. Giving people flowers is such a silly thing. Expensive dead treats - may as well hand me a recently killed puppy and tell me to hold on to it until it gets cold!

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