She'd just moved in...
Outside- beside her chipped paint porch, was a tiny pond.
The weekend was here and so she decided to clean it.
Upon removing the last bit of algae, she found a dying lotus.
It was barely recognizable as such, but she knew it was.
She touched its delicate, slumping green arms and spoke.
Her tone was ever so gentle, just enough to let the flower know she was there and... that she cared.
Every morning and night, she was found by the pond side,
singing, praying and nurturing her lost bud, floating.
One day, during her daily ritual of visiting the water,
she saw a blur of color emerging at the surface.
It was bright yellow and stunning from arm to head.
Her lotus flower was alive and well, smiling, the way she did
for it, even in its most repelling appearances and times.
Every day now, the lotus honors her too, greeting sun and moon.