Today’s prompt was to write a poem based on the language of flowers. For example, yellow roses stand for friendship, white roses for innocence, and red roses for love. In fact, there are as many potential meanings for flowers as there are flowers. The Victorians particularly loved giving each other bouquets that were essentially decoder-rings of meaning. For today, I was challenged to write a poem in which one or more flowers take on specific meanings.

Lost Childhood

You toddle up to me on

chubby little legs, your plump

 hands clutching joyful

buttercups and innocent

daisies.

And I wonder if you realise

 how in years to come

your childish joy will

disintegrate like yellow

petals and your innocence

become a chain

around your heart.