A Dozen Iron Roses

Sometimes in life you r gifted a 12 bright red roses And when they r presented they r often a celebration of Love Joy Trust Peace Happiness Future But then one by one something happens that causes them to wither The 1st couple may be the weakest and the easiest to think you can let go of A joke that you didnt think they would make A comment that just borders that line that you asked them not to cross The next couple wither rapidly Shaming you for getting excited about something deemed childish Begging you to only spend time with them cause your friends just don’t like me The rest dont truly wither The rest of those 12 bright red roses are crushed one by one in front of you Of course the whole while the very person who gifted these roses Is saying to you Why are you abandoning me because you had plans with friends Im sorry Im so terrible to be around When you say you need some time alone That was really disrespectful When you stand up for yourself after being dismissed like a child This is your fault They scream at you and slam their hand on the steering wheel And you hold onto that last rose because it is a reminder that there was something good There was love joy trust peace happiness and a future So you fight and hold that last bright red rose because this was good once There were a 12 bright red roses and now where are they You hold that last rose thorns and all until suddenly you realize Every single part of you has withered and so has that final rose So you let it go And instead of sadness you are relieved and at peace But you miss the roses you miss the happiness So instead of searching for someone to gift you a 12 bright red roses You start to form your own Petal by petal stem by stem And instead of the fragile roses that r given by others These are forged through everything that youve experienced and learned How to stand for yourself How to see your own inherent worth How to heal And through all of it There r roses given to you by others That over time those wither & fade But these that have been forged within Cannot be crushed & will not wither These are the ones that you hold tight to now These 12 Iron Roses That have been heated and formed and will not break now Theyre repaired and cared for by you and by those who r allowed to help tend them But never again will someone come and pick off petal by petal Because if they try The will find that a 12 iron roses Have 12s of iron thorns And these thorns and roses R well tended to And will not wither