Perfect Crimson Blossoms

Imagine two
rosebushes,
planted by unseen
hands,

one in the
palace garden
of a storybook
princess,

one in a
cracked pot
on the crooked
steps of a
maidservant’s
hovel.

Each morning
the maidservant,
who loves the
princess,
places a perfect
crimson blossom
behind the
princess’ ear.

Each morning
the maidservant’s
barefoot daughter,
who loves her,
places a perfect
crimson blossom
behind her
mother’s ear.

Some of us
anxiously puzzle
whether we’re
more like
the princess or
the maidservant.

I like conjuring
the lesson of
the perfect
crimson blossoms,
and recalling that
a wise woman
said
“a rose is
a rose is
a rose.”

(Photo by Carlos Quintero, UnSplash)
(Wise Woman: Gertrude Stein)