The Garden

The Garden
by Mark Tyler Chase

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked
"A gardener in the orchards of your heart," he replied
"Faithfully watering these flowers of yours
 Tending them 'til the day I die"

"Why would you do a thing like that when
There are gardens far fairer and greener than mine
Don't you see there are thorns and brambles here
Walls covered in a cobweb of vines"

"But these flowers here at the center of the garden
Are of a breed so pure and rare
Throughout the Earth I've not seen their like
Their beauty beyond compare"

"Those are a shielded sight, few care to see
Most stay at the vine-covered wall, gazing haphazardly
And the ones that stroll through the gate, do not often stay
They'll pick a flower and be gone, come the red sun's rays"

"But I would water these roots with my soul
Sun their leaves with my heart
Watch the petals and their gentle sway
Like the sails of a ship, its voyage about to start

For a flower closed is safe from harm, but robbed of beauty too
It cannot spread the pollen of joy or the freedom of full bloom
But rooted in the soils of trust, your petals may unfurl free
Beneath the warm sun of my heart, blossom!
Comfort in Vulnerability"