Watch What You Grow

I found a seed
flowing through wind
and dared to make it mine

I planted it
in rich, soft dirt
and watched it grow in time

It coiled up
through blowing winds
and stretched out one green leaf

A bud in center
with soft petals melted
into red, gold, peach and green

Fully mature
I sat and watched
the flower I had sown

I saw it sway
against the wind
strong in the place it had grown

And then came the day
when it was time to weed
and I worked my fingers raw

There before me
was my flower
standing straight and tall

I peered down
and saw the petals
had spread throughout the ground

The other flowers
that had grown so beautifully
were now being choked and bound

I looked down at my careful study
and shook my head in disbelief
what I’d sheltered and watered and watched and cared for
had been nothing but a weed