Cradling A Dying Bouquet

written by: artsydoll

"He loves me, he loves me not,he loves me..."

I fall dreamily off my bed into a pile of fresh laundry,

throwing the cluster of naked wild daisies into the air, and then catching

them again.

"I caught the bouquet!" I whisper breathlessly to no one and

then laughter takes hold of me.

Regaining my composure, I stand and extend my arm.

"May I-yuh have-a zees dance?" I ask in a poor excuse for an

Italian accent.

"But, of course!" I answer myself and I begin a waltz with

someone nonexistent, humming a melody heard long ago, surprised that I remembered it.

Our dance ends and I give my "partner" a curtsey and, still

humming, leap not-so-gracefully to the full length mirror, ready to face my

worst enemy.

My eyes still following the pattern of dust on the wooden

floorboards, I adjust my sleeveless white gown and let my strawberry blonde

hair out of it's traditional ponytail. I feel the long, loose curls cascade

down, framing my face. I lift my eyes to the mirror, partially embarrassed of

my childish dress-up habits, partially proud that I hadn't given it up, like

all the other girls have. I imagine I should give the box of costumes to my

sister, but I haven't had the heart to part with them quite yet.

I gasp suddenly at the image produced in the sheet of glass and

take a step backward, tripping over a pair of heels in the process.

After recovering from my fall, I creep back up to the mirror,

crouching, like a hunter.

I am frightened by the girl on the other side because she is not

I! Since when did I grow up so quickly?

But, I suppose, somewhere underneath my clumsiness and silly

habits, there lies a lady.

And someday, I think to myself, cradling a dying bouquet, she will show.

Author's Notes: I actually wrote this for a contest a few weeks

ago, but I changed this one just a tad bit. Love it? Hate it? Or is it just

"OK"? Please review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is

welcome and much appreciated. Please, no flames. Cindy Moon, if you are reading

this, thanks for the review you wrote on my poem, "Checkerboard" (and all the

other reviews!) This one isn't about a broken relationship! :)

Thanks again! Hope you all enjoyed it.

-artsydoll (altrockangel01 )