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Lavender Woman
I awoke from a small seed
Born from the sun and earth of humble origins
Surrounded by others waiting to bloom
A journey I took,
Through the soil until the sun turned to smile on my face
My leaves turned upwards
I awoke to see the sprouts around me
All of us different,
Yet connected
In this desert world of turmoil
Their stems and petals casting dappled light around my figure
My hands small and capable
My mind empty and free
My body curved and green
My hair bounces in coiled waves of blossoms
As I grew,
Buds opening towards the sky
I learned
I, a violet bending over the grass
All kinds of flowers filled the empty land around me
All of us in this meadow, unburdened by the weight of this world
As I grew towards the clouds,
The winds came and blew over
The only ones left were me and trees swaying in the strong wind
I no longer think of the flowers around me
I am singular
A member of my own species
I have sealed the walls to garden
I have built up a fence to block out the world
I know you have to be strong or else you get rained on
Overgrown by the weeds
And choked out by the dandelions
In my adolescence,
The trees turned new leaves and I became surrounded by colors
Then the yellows and reds dropped and withered,
Their colors becoming bleak and brown
Snow covered by stem and the grass in the field
I have learned that death is another part of life
Withering and watching
Springtime has arrived
Greens and new flowers are bursting forth again
Little girls in white dresses pluck the flowers
I don't want to be plucked
I turn away from their firm hands,
Roots planted in the ground
I realized,
As summer drew near
That every flower gets plucked at some point
Like every paper gets drawn on or every cloth gets worn
I've been alive for many years now
Will anyone want me?
If I'm withered and worn and torn
If my leaves are starting to brown and twist
I'm fine in my walls
In my own private garden
When a flower comes to peace with being un-plucked or untouched,
They have reached maturity
I am still not grown
But I am a lavender girl becoming a lavender woman
Copyright ©
Elisha Jackson
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