Fighting, SAD

In winter when the ground is cold,

when the weather is fierce with a biting wind.

A flower cannot grow.

But when spring breaks through and the ground is thawed,
the shoots of the flower begin to fight their way
through the earth.
When they see the light, inch by inch they start
to grow.

And when
summer comes
when the
weather is
warm and
the wind is
calm, the
flower can
feel safe.

Although, here
and there, as
it grows, it
may lose a
petal or two.

But new ones grow, and the flower gets stronger,
ready to battle through the next winter.

Published in 'A Year Goes By' by Poetry Now, 2000