Two Flowers

Two flowers stood on a rocky hilltop that overlooked a
valley far below. The first flower looked around and
said with disappointment, “It’s hard living all the way
up here. My roots have to cling with all their strength to
the loose dirt on windy days.” The second flower
answered, “But we know the grace of a gentle wind,
unlike the flowers below us who only feel mild
breezes.” Frustrated, the first flower pouted, “The
clouds sometimes pass over me though before they drop
their rain, and I get thirsty more often than the other
flowers.” Stretching his pedals towards the sky, the
second flowers yawned. “But we don’t have to fight for
open space and food up here, unlike the flowers down
below us.” The first flower frowned. “And I get lonely
up here sometimes when you’re asleep,” the first flower
finished, exasperated. “Why are you lonely?” asked the
second flower. “We have the whole valley to talk to.”
And the two flowers thought about this for a moment,
and listened closely to the valley below. And seeing the
two flowers up above it, the valley whispered thoughts
and dreams and wishes to them, and they were no
longer two small flowers set upon a rocky hilltop, but
angels sitting along the rim of heaven that made the
Earth worth living in. And for some time, there was
silence on the hilltop, and things were good and
blessed.

Andrew Venegas
San Jose
SJSU
poetry