The pink azaleas fade the fastest,
their festive petals turning a nasty brown.
All year they’ve waited for their glory moment,
the sudden burst of bloom that makes them
special among the other shrubs,
but their faces once revealed begin to crumple
and decay, so that within in a week
they’re like aging drag queens
holding out for one last show
before saying goodbye to the stage.
Copyright 2019
T. Allen Culpepper
