When the flowers bloom

By Emily Melara Ramirez

I have waited for a long time.

I waited as leaves leaped to save themselves,

I waited as trees fell asleep,

I waited when the snow powdered the outside world and froze all life,

I waited all throughout the mute months.

With loneliness as my only companion and a short candle melting in my hand,

Your promise still stayed as a hearth I can return to.

The dying coal revived despite the cold smothering its sparks,

Its rebirth melting the icy terrain.

Warmth erupting to melt the snow around me and brought life back to the land.

As the primroses begin to smile at me,

As the lily-of-the-valleys whisper me sweet nothings,

As the daffodils fill me with warmth,

I demanded from the moon who gossiped to her stars,

Is this just temporary, or will it last?

This joy enraptured me as the hot summer went on,

But was calmed when fall came as the fire burned to comforting ashes.

Yet if the promise of the flowers are renewed every season,

My hearth will survive and that coal will burn on

Murmur to me your vows before the death of it all,

Before the world falls silent again.

Joy, please promise me all the seasons.

Then, even if the sun rises from the west and sets in the east,

This hope will stay with me throughout the year.