The rose flower

Only one rose flower
has ever bloomed,
in my rose plant,
ever since i planted it
as a rootless stem,
leafless and flowerless too,
but full of thorns.

I remember,
how i found it hard that day,
to hold on to your stem
because of your thorns.
Yet,i gleamed
when you first bore a leaf
and then,
weeks later,your first rose.

When your colors faded,
I was not sad…
I felt you looked beautiful,
even in that way.
When you shed your first petals,
I didn’t complain.
I thought you added beauty,
to the ground around you.
But then…

I looked forward
and saw myself
waiting for years and years,
for another flower to bloom.
I saw myself
waiting in springs and summers,
trying to protect you
in winters and autumns,
but you will never bear
another flower again.

Knowing this,
my tomorrows..
When I look back
at you now..
shedding your last petals
one by one…
I don’t know..
What should i do?

Collect this fallen petals
in my heart forever?
Or, hope in vain
for another flower to bloom,
someday?