Questions Posed to a Petal

i beheaded our love

as i pulled off each petal

tossing my angst

into the reckoning gale

\oh, how I longed to believe you!\

green, your calyx unfurled

unveiling vermillion corolla

scented heady uncertainty.

i inhaled misgivings where i sought

passion, and the cosmos

swallowed butterflies.

in the perpetual questioning

\do you, do you not?\

fingers stained from dissecting

pistil, pollen and essence

roses morphed to dandelions

\each exhale seeded doubts\

and towheaded whispers

blew flaxen future

floating, ephemeral

on roiling winds.