Joseph Childress

Can a rose survive winter?
You may know of the rose
Which arose from impossible grounds,
Defying the laws which told the rose it could not grow.
Although this beautiful flower came into existence,
Regardless of the environment that tried to prevent it,
It still has many tribulations that it must overcome,
The cold winter is near and won’t succumb for anyone.

The temperature drops, the sun hides away,
The dew which used to be so satisfying now turns to frost,
Slowly suffocating the flower, all hope is lost.
The first snowflake drops, the plants fade away,
The fresh smell of pine trees now takes its place,
Quickly covering the smells the rose thought would stay.

The rose petals begin to crumble, texture begins to toughen,
The hue turns brown, the rose amounts to nothing.
The head of the rose now faces the ground,
That godforsaken ground that no other rose could be found.

It’s so unfair to watch something so miraculous
Be forced to despair,
It kind of makes the mind to ponder
If a miracle was ever there.

The months go by, winter comes to an end.
The snow melts in days, as spring begins.
Beautiful plants begin to grow
And in the exact spot where the tragedy came to be,
There is sign of another rose
So similar to the one we used to know.

It’s so amazing
To watch a rose come alive,
It kind of makes you wonder
If the rose ever died.