My One White Intrepid Flower

There, 

High up on the exalted green perimeter 

Of the Ornamental Garden,

Stood one white intrepid flower,

Surrounded by her yet-to-be-born sisters,

Blushing at her own unscheduled audacity 

While drinking from the warm, sweet reservoir

Of an early summer sun.

Why she, 

The one white blossoming flower

"Girls with White Flowers and Lanterns"
Painting by Singer Sargent

In that gray and sleeping bouquet,

Chose to be so courageous

While the others kept their distance,

Lacking the necessary resolve,

Is just one more manifestation

Of that Great Unanswered Question,

The Mystery of Life. 

Or perhaps 

She simply responded,

Without any need for coaching,

To the Siren Call of Being,

Deciding then and there that

One cannot wait for others

Who might not be quite ready 

For the flowering of their souls

Or the delicate scent 

And ravishing color

Of their own

Inimitable,

Unspeakable,

Irresistible

Beauty.

Ross Bachelder

June 19, 2012