Black Rose

There was once a rose
Beautiful and fair
With petals of blood red
And thorns that would never rip or tear

She was elegant and sweet
Nothing ever troubled it at all
Always was she bright
Until she began to fall

One day something inside changed
A realization of the world beyond
That everything wasn't always happy
The gruesome truth had finally dawned

Some things in this world were dark
Not happy or ever bright
Then she began to sleep in the day
And stay wide awake at night

The things the rose saw that night
When neither moon nor sun shone
Changed her mind forever
But in this knowledge she was alone

Her outward appearance changed too
She became far different from the others
The other flowers became worried
They treated her pain different from another’s

Its petals gradually changed
They turned from red to black
The leaves withered up
And then began to crack

The blood it bled was no longer white
But deep and gory red
No one wanted to be with it anymore
And become trapped in the awful life it now led

Now it stood completely alone
Surrounded in a pool of blood
The rest of the round was black
As the redness began to flood

it spread to the other carefree flowers
They cried out in despair
Afraid of what could happen
If to understand they would dare

In time even the blood turned black
The shadows ruled the rose’s life
It just wanted the pain to end
It just wanted to end the strife

Now that day of the week has come
When the gardener preens and weeds
He starts on the opposite side of the garden
Trimming and planting new seeds

As he approaches, the rose wishes
That he’ll decide to cut it down
To just fall to the blackened earth
And in its own blood drown

When the gardener comes
He sees the lonely black rose
Finally one has mercy
And in his face it truly shows

He finds there’s nothing he can do
That can possibly save it now
It’s too far down the deadly path
Death is the only thing he can endow

He pulls forth a shining knife
The blood already falls
The rose is ready to die
The deadly shadow calls

The knife cuts through the scorched stalk
It splashes in the black pool
One finally realized what was best
And knew that living was so cruel

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