soft mortar
I was a stupid flower once, sitting in
A flowerpot with my blue and gray petals
Shut under a porch where the sun turns away from me.
I barely could sing my ABCs. I was never like—
The bright flowers; I was a black flower
Pulled aside to wither. They’d hauntingly laugh at me,
A dark corner was my shadow’s pet, feasting on me
Little by little, like hungry bees. I didn’t want
To hide from the sun or the sun to hide from me
I wanted it to look at me, so it could bloom
My dull stems and petals. The pine trees didn’t believe
Or too much care about me.
They mock and throw rocks at me.
I couldn’t read the stars or count them clearly.
I’d say 23 stars instead of 3; the moon would tease me
If the donkey knocks my flowerpot
Over—I’d weep terribly on the ground—
Like a black clown. I wanted to show the moon
That I was brighter than the stars, but the moon
Gave up on me. I was too embarrassed to look at me.
I was a caveman without any identity.
My words would poison my soil; I would droop and stare
At my dumb roots, drowning in the puddles.
I was a stupid flower once…
But Mother Earth never gave up on me!
She taught my roots and gave my stems some food.
She even gave me a handbook with words and rules.
Now I bloom towards the moon like a moonflower—
And I can see the stars perfectly too.
junior parcel
tiny gale
vast geyser
glad orchid
thick halo