Roses

I hate roses,

Especially red ones.

They’re too perfect

They mean too much and nothing at all

“I love you, but not enough to ask what your favorite flower is”

But you bought me them anyway.

You knew I hated them, and you thought it was funny.

A joke as you presented them to me in front of your friends

At a show I had worked so hard on

I hate being given flowers,

Especially at the end of a play.

I feel too bad that you sat there with them for hours on end,

I’m allergic to pollen,

And I can’t keep a plant alive to save my life.

But you bought me them anyway.

You held back laughter as I was uncomfortable,

And I laughed too.

But I also wondered what it would be like if every gesture you made wasn’t a joke.

I hate buying flowers.

Why cut something that’s beautiful,

Ending its life before it had the chance to grow.

“Congratulations, here is proof that nothing lasts forever”

But you bought me them anyway.

I felt so bad for being ungrateful,

Because what girl wishes her partner doesn’t get her flowers on Valentine’s Day?

I smiled when the waiter fawned over the gesture

And brought them home to die in front of my eyes.

I hate roses.

But you bought me them anyway.

By R. Regan McCall, written 11 August 2022