A brilliant rose blooms once more
One once blackened by ichor
Now stained red with the blood of sacrifice
And scarred for life by a lifetime of hatred and sorrow
Pain and suffering

Though still it blooms again
Through the shadow of despair
The shroud of the darkest nights
Through the foot of snow burying it
A shallow grave though not deep enough

For it blooms and blooms again
And again, for all to see
In defiance to all who would see it dead
Rather than thriving as it does
Scarred and stained as it is, strong and enduring

The black rose blooms forevermore
Stained red with my blood and watered by tears
Thorned and hardy, ready to face once more
The harshest of freezes, or a wayward wanderer
Who wanted nothing more than to see it wilt

Bloom