Lyric

I bought one stem

From a bucket by the door

Not the best one

Not the bright one

Just the one I reached for

Wrapped in thin paper

Loose at the seam

I held it like a secret

I was allowed to keep

Nothing had happened

Nothing was new

The sky was plain blue

And I was too

But something in me

Softened its rule

And let a little color

Come home from school

I carried it carefully

Like a yes I could not say

A small pink answer

In the middle of the day

I did not earn it

I did not need to prove

That pretty little things

Could belong to me too

It leaned in the glass

By the kitchen light

Almost too shy

To make the table bright

I kept looking over

Like it might disappear

As if wanting beauty

Was a thing I should clear

No one was coming

No card to sign

No room to impress

No reason in line

Just water, just sunlight

Just one quiet proof

That I could choose softness

Without telling the truth

I carried it carefully

Like a yes I could not say

A small pink answer

In the middle of the day

I did not earn it

I did not need to prove

That pretty little things

Could belong to me too

Maybe I make myself practical

Because it sounds clean

Maybe I call it simple

When I mean unseen

Maybe the cheapest little blossom

Knew better than I did

How long I had been asking

For something unneeded to live

I placed it by the window

Where the afternoon could see

A tiny act of mercy

I gave quietly to me

I did not earn it

I did not need to prove

That pretty little things

Could belong to me too

By evening it was leaning

And I loved it even more