i feel like i talk too much
about roses -

how their petals and fragrance
hide a much deeper secret:
their thorns.

but we have all met a few roses
in our lives:

ones that are almost perfect
in any way imaginable

ones that we've danced with
in heavy, pouring rain

ones that our hearts
have kept so dearly

all these things
and we embrace not the petals
but their thorns

and this is what causes
a bitter end