i am the
yellow carnation
in a garden of vibrant white daisies.
nobody wants to love
my blossoming of a body –
i am stripped of my petals every time
a boy reminds me that i will never be enough.
surprisingly, i am picked
to be in his vase with other yellow carnations
and we find comfort in his home.
but only two days go by,
he pulls our legs out of the water
and throws us into his backyard.
we are laying in the dirt & grass,
he kills us off before we had the chance to say goodbye.
he replaces us with white daisies.
he smiles.
he loves the brightness they bring into his home.
my arms wrap around the other carnations.
our legs can’t root into the dirt anymore.
we sob as our yellow petals fly into the wind.
Calista Ogburn
cogburn1@umbc.edu
Drawing by Ceyda Baysal.
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