Flower Poem, Geoffrey C. Porter (December 2025)

Flower Poem

Nothing left
Hope weighing in
Below zero
 
Looking for a cliff
 
Average bottle of
Soy sauce kill a man
 
Or enough salt
Institution living
Crippled
 
Body not bad
Brain toast
Like a broken computer
 
They offered me a job
As groundkeep
Serious offer
Wage above my stipend
 
A plan hatched
I took it
 
We were free
Only had to be
morning roll call
 
50 a week in cash
or a digital card
shop online
 
 
plant what I want
in derelict flowerbeds
bonuses promised
if it became beautiful
 
seeds of course
bulbs followed
1000s died at my hands
 
My first bloom
Blue Boy Bachelor Button
Not much bigger
Than a quarter
 
Some consider it a weed
To be rooted out
And removed
 
I pinned it
over my heart
walked to the pub
 
I had cash
A beer wasn’t disallowed
As long as made that roll call
 
Saw a lady in denim jeans and flannel shirt
Her eyes caught the bachelor button
before my eyes
 
I smiled
We got to talking
Dating
 
Soon she and I planted flowers together
 
She admitted it all began
Because I made the effort
To rise above my assigned station