within my grasp

i thought that I had finally learned

how to hold a flower in my hand
without breaking its stem,
just appreciating its  beauty

for so long I had walked by

these patches of wondrous growth
and I would wince shyly at them
and walk right by

before I knew of their aesthetics

how to smell their lavender or sweet
lemon waft, realize how they paint the
landscape of Mother Nature with lovely colors

i would walk on by and sometimes

trample on them just because they were there
they felt soft, selfishly, underneath my bare feet
without the care that they might
be feeling my destructive apathy

but no one ever told me of their beauty

how to grasp them gently and caress
the uplifting spirit inside them, how they
can entice my soul with joy

when next I did notice the wonderment

of a yellow pedal with white center flower
i plucked it from the ground knowing
i would have to water it and share it
with the sun so that it would live

for a while we enjoyed each others

morning and evening smiles but after
a while I forgot to change its water
and it became shaded away from the sun
i ignored it because of other life distractions
it wilted and died and my soul with it

i had finally learned to love but became

complacent and so what should have lasted
forever dissipated into that emptiness I
had felt for so long before

it was in my grasp and I let it die