Roses of the Field

Roses Of The Field Village square has flowers of rare coloration Not appearing in nature Painted, ugly, plastic without a scent Aromas are condemned, not authorized by local politics Illegal in the kingdom and the region To sell or grow or pick a living plant or flower Is punishable and the penalty is death Flowers are the enemy of the state according to government decree Citizens and country folk must buy their plastic flowers every week A dozen at a time to help with taxes To avoid execution for non-compliance naturally Roses that come from nature have lovely fragrances If you come to our town wearing one You will be executed on the spot and planted like a tree Decapitation is a possibility People with real flowers or plants are gambling Face termination every day, but only once So to the mountain out of sight I pedal day and night My bike and I hide out on weekends with my aromatic friends A patch of deep red roses wait for me behind the little orange fence Next to the brook and yellow shack we hid from authorities Thorns cause pain but not the same As government intervention I touch and smell the real petals on my flowers and they touch back We must conceal our love from state and plastic fakes And hide beneath our bed of roses for nature’s sake Created on 12/17/14 for Mystic Rose - ROSES ROSES ROSES – Poetry Contest