Looking up

Untitled | Iris Ghorbani |

Looking up by Carmen Torrecilla

In the garden

the ground is bone bare and dry

unfavorable to all things 

who try to survive 

the roses crippled

petals fallen to the ground

only thorns remain prominent

in this bitter surround

the sweet dandelions

nowhere to be found

for in such a hostile place

nothing so pleasant abounds

defeated I retreat to the gate

prepared to give up

and leave such a hopeless place

but before I abandon

a silent yet piercing color beckons me near

eagerly speeding forwards,

I can see clear

enveloped in the undergrowth

a little lady bug clings to a tendril

unbeknownst of my attention

she briskly runs up the vine

sharpening my keen eyes

I follow her steps,

she crawls 

and she stops.

On a single yellow flower

she halts to rest

admiring its beauty 

and liveliness

bewildered at this flower

with an unrelenting spirit

I learned it only took a glance up,

a shift in my perspective to see it