I learned recently, that flowers will grow where bodies have been buried

flowers will grow where you got sick after the party

grass will be green, if you water it- even if it is stolen water

or holy water

the leaves will die every winter and the leaves will come back every summer

it isn’t the end, its only winter

the bottle isn’t empty, you’re still sober

the flowers aren’t dead, its only winter

I started to notice how flowers grow wherever they have the room to

around grave stones and highways, by car wrecks and over ashtrays

their vines take over bodies hidden in the woods, animals that have fallen to previously empty floors

daisies will grow where he told you he didn’t love you, and roses will bloom where people have died, and hydrangeas will take over the ground she fell onto when he hit her the first time

I learned recently that the leaves that fall first are not the weakest

the people who fall first, and the people who give up are not any worse off than you, or me

the leaves that hold on until mid December, those are the leaves that are scared of the truth that winter will bring

I don’t want to be scared of the truth any more

I think I can face it

flowers die, flowers bloom, flowers rot right in their pot

people come and people go

and some people, people like you, won’t let me grow

people cannot be homes

I will grow, in more ways than one, I will grow like veins and vines and crush branches and lungs

I learned recently that flowers aren’t weak and neither am I

my translucent skin isn’t far from that of white petals on an orchid

and the dirt that made these flowers bloom is the same dirt that stained my newborn feet

flowers dry out when winter comes, but flowers come back when the seasons change

I’ve never seen a rose break

I am not weak, I am not weak, I am not weak