Rose
a single red rose
tired and weary and dripping with cliche
breaks through a snowy barrier
again
because one is born almost every day
in cheap love poetry
the rose blooms slowly
cautiously
peeking through icy granules
each petal testing the cold air
before asserting itself
and the stem grows
it is long and seductive
and alluringly dangerous
as thorns protrude
in sharp contrast to the soft petals
a warning to the weak to stay away
yes, another red rose grows
in the snowy winter ground
nothing new
except this:
this time it blooms for us
look for this poem in the upcoming edition of From the Mountaintop , the poetry anthology of the International Library of Poets, due out Summer 2000
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