Paper Wings

I can’t tell you

when they first arrived

at my doorstep

with crinkled paper

tied around their stems

Just that they

never stopped coming

until they did

Their petals’

overpowering scent

was intoxicating

but I knew that it would

eventually fade

like the lipstick I wore

by the window

as I waited everyday

Once the old withered

and the new

fell victim to my

over-watering ways

I convinced myself that

receiving peonies

means more than growing

my own that will stay

-A.J