Night-Blooming

Heavy-hearted, she stood in a field of sunflowers -
All tall, bending towards the light, handsome and bold -
While she, a night-blooming flower, kept her petals
Tucked, hidden, closed. Once darkness came, she opened
Herself fully - ecstatic in the moonlight - but no one
Was awake to see.

One day, she tried to muster up strength to reveal herself
In the sun. This is me, this is me, someone see, she cried.
But the sunflowers turned the other way, shouted at her
For looking so weak. Try harder to hide yourself, they shouted,
Embarrassed and angered by her drooping petals
And wilting stem.

And so she tried, harder and harder to hide the colors
Within her that begged to explode, dreaming of a desert
Where succulents danced beside her, gathered round and held her,
Singing softly, oh yes, we know who you are. Come, come, you belong here.
Where she could unfold, praised for her vulnerability,
Her twilight-tinted heart.