Changing of the Guard

Changing of the Guard

I used to walk so delicately
among the flowers, being careful
not to talk too much to one,
for fear of slighting the others,
regardless of who was blooming
more beautifully.
They all flourished, blossoms of all colors,
expanding into neighboring soil,
now crowding each other,
some barely poking an occasional
flower through another’s foliage gone wild.
What poor manners, I thought,
so I got tough and called my friends
and begged them to take a
small acreage of plants, stomping
on the rogue ones as I mercilessly
tore into the dirt with my old shovel,
filling as many empty pots as I could
find and quickly depositing them in
any open door or hatchback.
Sighing with relief as soon as the
cars disappeared around the corner.
With renewed energy, I skipped to
back yard to admire the new plants
I had purchased last weekend at
the blow-out plant sale.
Now I had a few places I
could place my new loves.