Six Yellow Roses

Six yellow roses in a water glass

Are my company tonight.

They are enough

Even if I bought them

For myself,

Which I did

Because they were there and I wanted them.

They will die in a week,

But in the meantime, they will blossom;

I have willed this,

Cutting off their leaves

Trimming their stems

Adding that white powder to the water

And turning up the heat in the house.

I bled when I gripped their stems

To cut all six in one go

Because I do things like that

In a rush and without thinking
Because I see the possibilities and find them beautiful.

My blood made no difference, and it was a small price.

In the morning, their fragrance will fill the room.

The flowers will open; their stems will remain strong.

It is not yet over for these roses.

But when it is,

I will invert them until they are dry

And I will remember:

I bought myself roses

Because I wanted them

And I could.