A rose bush requires intentional care.
It’s a piece of work to keep it healthy,
but a piece of work that is rewarding.
Roses smell sweet, a scent unparalleled,
a paragon of the process of perfection,
but the process takes effort.
Because every rose has thorns,
and if left unattended it becomes easy
for the thorns to outpace the pedals,
and then you have not a rose bush,
but a thorn bush, a scarred, scornful mockery
of the what the plant’s adorned form used to be.
Pruning out the unwanted stems
can be a painful process, and a long one,
but in the long run the dedication
is what makes the flower bloom.
The fruits of your efforts take slow, sweet time to show
but your efforts do cause the roses to grow
and do not go unnoticed.
The soft, full pedals of these precious flowers
grow from intentionality.
Dedication begets beauty.
