Winter Rose

Winter roses are the unexpected survivors of summer. They are solitary, perched at the end of a twig without benefit of leaves or other blossoms to keep them company. They survive ice and wind and rain, showing that sometimes delicate flowers have great strength. I never pick them to take inside. I take pictures of them and admire them. And, later in the year, when the forsythia blooms, we prune the roses. But that time, even the winter roses are tattered and ready to go. As spring advances, the new buds come out and the rose bushes start their season of growing, culminating the the vivid show of summer.

But for now, there is one blossom, just one. I will check on it every day to see how it fares through the next few weeks. Sometimes, a single blossom is enough.