Red rose, petals of velvet,
thick and smooth.

Your beauty, unsurpassed in nature,
made even more splendid
by the brevity of your existence.

Hand crafted over the centuries,
but in the twinkle of an eye
your green stem is hewn
from under you.

Your head falls to the earth,
petals close in the fading sun,
not to open again.

If only I could keep you.

But you were never mine to hold forever,
only to cherish in your bloom.