Send me no flowers

Send me no flowers

I almost got you some flowers.
First there was the getting lost
and then the clumsy bumping into trees
most undignified.
And then I stubbed my toe
and when I fell
I inevitably picked
a thorny bush to land on.
And then I tried to take a shortcut
and almost slipped and slid into the abyss.
Tired I sat
and watched
the pig, the snake and the rooster
go about their merry dance
over and over and over.
I was about to give up
when I saw the flower
and I gazed at it
and said ‘This can’t be mine’.
I couldn’t pluck it
but here is the smile instead.
And when I am angry
here is the smile
and when I am hurt
here is the smile
and
when I am happy
here is the smile.