Among the Gardens in Heaven

For a kind, elderly woman,
I once cared for her flowers.
They required nothing but sun, soil, and water.
They were pink as fire and beautiful to see,
and they needed me.

I gave to them, every few days,
the water when there was no rain.
I did not mind to give them my time,
for they needed me, and they were lovely.

One day I found roaming, tiny ants,
all over the fiery, pink flowers called ‘Impatience.’
I could not destroy them.
The flowers would have died from the poison,
though it would have been merciful,
for what the ants were consuming
were not the petals, leaves or stems,
but the beauty of the flowers’ essence.

For as long as they could, the Impatience lived
with the little ants crawling all over them.
I was helpless to watch as the ants roamed
all over the pink fire of petals,
until there was no more essence left.
For now the flowers have wilted.
One by one, the flowers fell.
The leaves and stems had begun to dry.
And it was hard to watch the Impatience die.

The ants went away when the flowers let go,
and I felt this sorrow within my soul.
But this I know, life, for all creation,
is forever without end.
And the flowers, called Impatience,
live on, among the gardens in heaven.