By Shoilee Mandal

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life grows. life is challenging and confusing, but no matter what, there are beautiful petals, waiting to grow.

i was once a seed
rooting through the tight underground
learning to wiggle through mother nature’s bed
learning to make space for myself

i once danced through the soil
finding my way up to the surface 
learning to navigate into concrete
learning to push through

i once set my roots in place
letting them hold me as i ascended
learning to rise into the sun’s embrace
learning to stretch far into the world

i once let my stem spark 
rising into what they call the real world
learning to reach for the sky-scraping trees
learning to grow for the endless blue

i then grew my first leaf
shining under the warm light of life  
learning to grow from the rain
learning to shape myself

i thought it was all of me
     a bright and crisp feeling
        glimmering green under every ray
        until my stem kept growing 
     pushing against my skin
sprouting a new leaf

standing beside its first grasp of life
it began to thrive
to drink the sunlight
a fresh beginning
a new fragment to my stem
 as it smiled under its first time under the sky

a garden of my leaves grew on me
with little rips and restyled shapes
my stems starting to fill
ready to bloom into its full species


the ovary of my flower
who began to suck in life
taking the lessons of my leaves
a messenger to my petals

my filaments placed in a standing ovation
nurtured by my leaves
who learned to accept their lives
holding my petals strong

as my petals bloomed
growing from my pistil
rising in their sunset marigold body
warm and united

today i am a flower
dancing under the sun
growing more petals and leaves
becoming whole day by day

i stand and listen
to the roaring wind
listening as the sea sings
watching as the sky paints itself

i am in a garden of all flowers
from whispering daisies to bold roses
i live with them all
each with hidden stories

springing from deep roots 
living strong for my gardeners
reaching for the stars as i am watered
spreading my petals and growing new ones

today i am a flower
with every piece of me
from my roots to my pistil 
listening to the world sing

and growing my petals

Process

I was inspired to write this piece after monitoring the growth of a flower, from a seed to a beautifully standing part of nature. Like flowers, we as humans experience many changes as we grow through life. I incorporated many features of a flower in its stages of life, from the roots to the petals. Growth can be tricky no matter the situation, but like flowers and many other beauties of this world, there is always beauty in every moment. With the use of personification, this poem symbolizes the growth we experience as individuals, even in the complicated parts of life.