The Hidden Flower

THE HIDDEN FLOWER

Poem by Avianna Lemonier

She is the flower that bloomed in the middle of a winter storm;

Petals forming in the frigid cold, roots sprinkled with chilled water.

Energized by a shy sun,

Solemnly peeking through a thick, smothering fog.

A flower unrecognized, sitting unplucked, among a bed of roses.

Beautiful but foreign to the untrained eye,

Left untouched and treated with shallow indifference.

She is a flower that bloomed in spite of the winter around her.

Arya Sarbadhikari

Reaching up toward the still, blue sky.

She stretches her leaves, bending and moving and shapeshifting.

Forced into growth by her circumstances,

She chooses to reach rather than wither and die.

This vibrant flower grows in gardens within us all;

Hidden away behind unforgiving shrubs and overgrown branches.

This flower sits lonely, hoping for a chance to survive,

Setting her intentions toward life and not death.

Hoping that the heart that she lives in will choose her,

Wishing to be acknowledged and brought out into clear daylight.

This flower knows her worth, knows that she is worth more than what she is given.

But she struggles to obtain what she knowingly deserves.

Arya Sarbadhikari

So she bends her petals upward, reaching still,

Hoping that, as she reaches, the sun will be kind and shine on her.

Up and up and up, she goes,

Persistently pushing past the sharp, harsh surroundings she knows of.

And then, like magic, the fog above her shifts,

Lowering beneath her, covering the shrubs and the sharpness of broken stems.

Finally, she can breathe clean air and stretch her leaves in delight,

As the sun bounces upon her petals, appearing as a welcome to this new world.

As she continues to rise, the sounds of her old world fade,

And the fresh feelings of a new life cover her petals with dew.

Finally feeling content, she stands upright, Solid in her petals and her leaves and her height.

This flower has overcome a cold winter,

Risen above an unforgiving fog and conquered suffocating surroundings.

This flower is content with where she has brought herself to be.

This flower is not going anywhere as she is free to bloom within me.