You’ve grown where you were born
Never leaving the comforts you’re familiar with
Yet not knowing the wonders of the unknown
Never risking potential experiences
Choosing to keep within your ceramic walls
Has made you wary
You find yourself safe and protected
But your roots are stunted without care
And you can’t escape the mites that eat your leaves

You are beautiful and sought after
What many flowers long to be
But they are so green with envy that they resent you
As you raised me, I saw how they treated you
How they tried to make you wilt with dangerous incompetence
Poisoned your water with false promises
Plucked your petals to dampen your spirit
But you remain divine
You gave me life
Nurtured my growth as you wished to be nurtured
And, for that, I will always love you

From afar and with less knowledge you look like a kind flower
Your purple color stark against the green
But your spines are long and painful
A lasting pain that aches after you have struck
Perhaps a defense for your vulnerable heart
But a defense I have no desire to break
And instead wish you were eaten by a cow