The Courage Of A Rose
/With its guarded prickly stem a rose needs courage to fend off the weeds. When Poppa shows the flower petals mercy this loving gesture allows him along with his son to understand standing ground alone.
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While puttering in the field Poppa found a rose that was trying to find life despite the weeds creating an ugly setting wanting beauty to suffocate.
“Poppa, what are you doing?” Paulie asked coming outside no longer needing to wear one of those masks they use at the hospital.
“I think I am going to cut this flower and allow it to have complete admiration for a couple days,”
“Books at the garden club Momma goes says they live about seven days,”
“I think this one may have a good five,” Poppa answered, “due to the things trying to bring it down.”
“You mean the weeds, Poppa?”
“Yes, son I mean the weeds,” Poppa took a snip and avoided getting punctured by the thorns guarding its prickly branches underneath the petals still wanting to show love displaying a bright redness, “it has been showing courage being alone surrounded by madness, let it celebrate for some time.”
“That is a clever idea,”
When the pair headed inside the farmhouse, Momma was standing there waiting with a jar and water, “what a nice gesture, Poppa, is it for me?”
“I love you very much Momma, but we are allowing this innocent symbol to enjoy a few days as the center of attention.”
“Well, I will love it just the same.”
Five days had passed, the calendar read Friday and when Paulie walked into the kitchen the petals were aging, “Poppa the rose stood its ground in the field standing tall against the neighboring enemy but today it seems to have lost the battle.”
“You think so son, maybe it is time we took it somewhere,” Poppa suggested, “a peaceful spot,”
“The spiritual place, on the border, I am sure it could find courage there.”
Later that afternoon as the zebra pulled the buggy Paulie watched the rose fade and was no longer a vibrant scarlet ruby color instead the darken texture screamed mercy. “There are all the crosses, Poppa, the rose can find a new life there.”
And it was at this time Poppa wanted to explain something by getting a thought off his chest, “son the man on the cross shouted ‘why have you abandoned me’ when he saw nothing but his faith.”
“Yes, Poppa, but we have not abandoned the rose,” Paulie defended, “we gave it time to feel loved, if we let it live that situation a lonelier death would occur.”
With the zebra comfortably stopped and harnessed to the carriage the two walked the path seeing the mass monument constructed over time that featured the Roman Catholic sacrificial relics.
“Here my friend, Paulie,” quietly spoke placing the flower on the golden artistic fixture, “you have the courage since we did not abandon you.”
After the sunset Paulie and Poppa returned home and when they entered the kitchen Momma was cleaning her frying pan, “Poppa, let me remind you,” she said in a stern voice, “I told you last month to clear out those weeds, now I have to go down to the garden store and purchase new rose bush flower seeds.”
“Yes, Momma.”
When Poppa was seated in his chair Paulie joined him with a smile, “Poppa, I will help you kill those nasty varmints since I have courage just like you when confronting Momma after you killed her rose bush.”
By Marc OBrien
From: United States
Website: https://www.austinmacauley.com/author/obrien-marc
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