Lily of the valley
I almost told you everything.
Like the flower, I stayed hidden—delicate truths tucked beneath soft leaves, waiting for a spring that never came.
Lilac
I thought you looked up that day.
You never did, but I still remember the way the breeze moved like it was helping you see me.
Rose
I named a playlist after you.
Each song was a petal, layered in hopes you’d someday hear it and just know.
Lavender
I wished you for the best in my head.
It wasn’t loud, but it was real—soft as dried lavender tucked into a letter I never sent.
Sunflower
You remind me of sunlight on good days
I turn toward where I last saw you, the way sunflowers lean toward the light, even when it’s gone.
Gardenia
Your name rhymed with a poem I never wrote.
I kept rewriting the ending, hoping the rhythm would carry me to a version of us that existed.
Poppy
I almost waved. Almost.
Poppies bloom fast and fall quicker. So did my courage.
Mimosa
I hope you never find this, or maybe I do.
Like a mimosa’s leaves, I close up when touched. But this garden is the one place I stay open.
Poinsettias
"You arrive only in winters I can’t forget."
You were red against the gray, the kind of warmth that shows up when everything else turns cold.
Morning Glory
"You were gone by noon, but you still bloomed for me."
I knew it was brief, but I watched anyway—just to say I was there when you opened.
Aster
"You were the last wildflower I whispered to."
Autumn didn’t feel like dying when you stood so bright against it.
Dahlia
"I told you nothing, but thought everything in color."
I wanted to be loud like you, with petals like secrets flaring open.
Orchid
"I kept you in glass—too perfect to touch."
Maybe I was scared to love something that elegant, or scared I’d wilt trying.
Lotus
"Even in the mud, I thought of you."
You made something sacred out of silence, blooming where I never dared to look.
Night-blooming Cereus
"I waited all night just to see you unfold."
It was one bloom. One night. But it felt like the whole sky slowed for us.
Bleeding Heart
"You broke me beautifully."
I still carry the shape of you like a petal that won’t fall off.
Tulip
"I always bloomed too early for you."
The frost came back, and I wilted with your name in my stem.
Passiflora
"Even tangled, I wanted to wrap around you."
I bloomed in spirals, in longing, in quiet obsessions with no end.
Lily
"You were too close to the altar in my mind."
I gave you reverence when you never even asked for it.
Ranunculus
"I had too many layers and not enough courage."
I wanted you to peel me open. I was waiting beneath the bloom.
Anemone
"I flinched when you almost saw me."
I am soft. I am stormlight. I am afraid of being held and not kept.
Iris
"I saw it all. You never looked back."
Even now, I keep my petals turned like I’m still watching.
Cranesbill
"You were the kind of wild I never picked."
I watched you sway in someone else’s breeze and called it peace.
Celosia
"You set fire to a part of me that still burns bright."
I let the flame dance longer than I should’ve—but oh, how it danced.
