The Life of a Rose

Samantha Barbera

I am the seed

Dropped into the womb of Mother Earth

I am nourished with drops of sun

And doused with water for survival

Sprouting through the soil

I begin to move on my own

I grow upward

Onto the path of life

The leaves are the steps I take

As I climb higher and higher

Through the agonizing thorns

To touch that glorious sunlight

I risk my life

Through storms and drought

Loved ones attempting to take my sunlight away

And yet I watch them fall at my feet as I grow ever higher

At last, I have bloomed into beauty itself

Spreading my petals to show the world I have survived

I have grown through the weight of the world on my shoulders

Suffocating me from the life I wish to live

I have established my roots

Reached my full potential

And now I represent purity from the toxins of those

Who only ever saw me as a seed