Fragile Petal Armor

Some days

I feel like a flower

That is alone

In the soil

Basking in the sun

With clinging petals

Desperate not to fall

The wind makes an effort

To ruin my stem

But somehow,

I find the strength,

And remain the flower

Alone in the soil

The gardener who tends me

Doesn't mind my plight

They add more water

Food and soil

With an aggressive tact

They demand I grow tall

As a petal falls

To join in the soil.

I look around the garden

At the other flowers before me,

And I feel my petals

Loosening their grip.

Their gardeners are kinder,

Wiser and resourceful.

With them they flourish,

And I remain

Stuck in the soil.

The petals are all I have,

The gardener doesn't see

Though they want me to grow

The petals mean more to me.

I rest in my soil,

Isolated with intent,

To hold onto my petals,

And grow beyond my contempt.