petals

there's a flower looking at me and smiling. It's white and has frills, the edges are turning brown. It's little leaves are turning in on themselves, it looks as though it has its hands on its hips.

It was a gift this flower, from a stranger on a street corner. He smiled and I smiled and then the flower smiled.

I almost killed it, and yet it lives and it smiles, and it smiles at me.