A solitary rose in red attire
Condescended:
A fleeting glance –
She apprehended
My affections,
Turned away
From me, a stray –

Stubble weed;
Genes to build an oddity:
Common seed –
Happy-go-lucky entity
In dull array.

The rose glowered,
But in ascension
Slipped a view of blight
Upon her regal greenery:
Black spot!

In all her bold perfumery
And blushing flower,
The sheen of vulnerability in jet
Reminded me how snobbery
And haughty shower
Tarnish with an underlying debt!

She wavered in her shallow play –
Man-bred –
Hardiness foregone.

The rose no longer shone.