Walking down the sidewalk of my suburban neighborhood
Littered with wild flowers clumsily drifting across our path
A path beaten down by the hurtful feet of children at play
Flowers struck down from the bicycles speeding past

Until one day, one particularly flower caught my eye
Red, full, leaning deliriously into my field of vision
I plucked the top from it's green stem and pressed it to my lips
Sweet, soft, and fragrant I traced my eyes, cheeks, and lips with it

Then stuffed it in my shirt, hard, against my chest
So when my mother took my clothes off to bathe me it fell on the floor
And I screamed and cried and picked the crumbled petals from the bathroom rug
Raced to my bedroom, **** naked, to put it somewhere safe

And every morning I'd stuff the wilted petals and stale sepal down into my pockets
Until finally there was nothing left but the dust of a once beautiful flower
Heartbroken, that is the day I realized beauty is to be admired, not suffocated
But realization and affirmation are too very different things