Graphic by Jeanine Lee
They will never understand
why I tried so hard
to keep your poinsettia plant alive
Why I spent hours scouring the internet for cures
for root rot
And so it would not grow crookedly
or become trapped in the blinds
I turned its heavy pot by the window
with the diligence of the nurse who called you “mama”
and was so concerned
about blood clots and bedsores
They will never understand why
when the plant withered
under my bewildered hands,
rather than toss it in the garbage,
I buried it the the backyard.