04-24-2015, 01:04 AM
It happened one day in my first year of college
when I was too self-conscious and excitable
to know any better.
Winter had let up in a respite
sometime around February or March.
I promptly followed suit, baring my arms and legs,
though, the inkling should have come upon me
that it was too warm, too soon
to last.
But the trees that lined the pulsing veins of campus
gave in to that temptation as well.
Sleeping buds awakened to a pale sun,
managing to flourish anyway.
Like a needle glides through fabric,
so did the perky, flushed flowers
punctuate the wash of sickly mop water that had tinged
Everything.
I, too, was fresh and pink
and I found myself eyeing those gems
from far away, and then nearer
until I could taste their sweet breath
when I sucked in the balmy afternoon.
The path was silent, the evening waning.
I’d had a busy day of classes and my head was heavy,
but when I saw the perfect little bud
hanging low enough for me to reach
I knew it was my chance!
Five round petals, silky and soft
Five eager fingers, seeking them to touch
Five short seconds---
And I looked down at the ground
To watch as five round petals
Sank without a sound.