Heroic Roses, by Paul Klee

Heroic Roses

After Paul Klee

Not satisfied with tones of green and blue
They stubbornly continue to progress,
And to hang on until they get their due
With tentacles that are tenacious.

They’re not content to merely vegetate
But also want to blossom, (but first to sprout),
And their achievement start to celebrate
(Of having freezing winter toughed it out)

By finely culminating in a red
(That’s neither blood they drew nor had to bleed)
Which both for leaves and plant becomes the head
Of what began last spring as just a seed

And as a medal for their stamina
Awards each stem with a corolla.