# Winter Flower (冬花)

**Published by:** [Joseph Kim](https://paragraph.com/@josephkim/)
**Published on:** 2021-11-23
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@josephkim/winter-flower

## Content

Under a blanket of cold white As Death wraps her arms in warm embrace Struggles a Flower Bud who wishes to bloom . “Why do you torment yourself?” she asks “Don’t you love me?” . But love or affection wasn’t on his mind He wanted to change He wanted to know what’s beyond the comfort of his surroundings Death cared for him so she offered to lift her blanket so that he may peek outside But not wanting any help, He adamantly declined and continued to struggle alone Death couldn’t bare to see him hurt so she offered the Bud a deal: . “Lend me your roots So that you may leave me and venture alone, I’ll give them back once you return So that you may bloom in the Spring with the others” . So the naive Bud accepted her offer and gave up his roots and left her Curious baby steps turning into strides, The tracks he left behind once close together grew further apart He ran into the barren field hoping to find something new and alive But all he saw was the cold white, A lingering memory of Death’s warm embrace . He was lost — Lost in his ways and in himself . In anguish, he screamed for help but no one was there to listen So he wept silently Like tears gently rolling down one’s cheek, His petals fell off one-by-one, Gracefully fluttering away with the Eastern wind And in that cold as his last petal broke off, He smelled a familiar scent as Death wrapped her arms around him . “Welcome back,” she whispered . Maybe he was just imagining this, But he took his last breath to greet her with a sad smile Before closing his eyes forever.

## Publication Information

- [Joseph Kim](https://paragraph.com/@josephkim/): Publication homepage
- [All Posts](https://paragraph.com/@josephkim/): More posts from this publication
- [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@josephkim): Subscribe to updates
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/jokballin): Follow on Twitter