The Only Rose

                             Warm air surrounded the water-cooled glass
                             Creating a thin envelope of mist.
                             At the lip condensation formed droplets,
                             And my concentration drifted to them.
                             With gathered weight a drop slid off the lip          
                             Then slowly drifted down the sweating side
                             Clearing away the mist as it floated;
                             But in moments its wake began to fog
                             Leaving a faded scar- a puddle formed.
                             My thoughts flowed to what lived in the water.

                             Its lushness and beauty flowered in me
                             While implanting its scent deep in my soul.
                             Complex- it grew with velvety layers—
                             Layers hiding the secrets of its folds.
                             From it stemmed the richness of mystery
                             Budding with all that I wanted to know.
                             Contrasting colors collected the light
                             Leaving it glowing late into the night.
                             And in this darkness it blossomed with life—
                             And in this— its life— grew the seeds of me.

                             It reached out.  I took.  It was in my hand
                             When fate pompously pranced into the room.
                             The enigma, explained—now easy to see,
                             Then pulled its secrecy across my hand;
                             The thorn of destiny cutting a path
                             Like the droplets down the side of the glass,
                             And I wondered if its wake, too, would fade
                             While puddles began to form at my base.
                             Feeling the scar a new mystery grows—
                             Why is it that there is only one rose?