Accepting Geraniums
Those red geraniums—
shameless and flashy
their amorphous emerald leaves
a fashion statement
in their clay pots
Skinny stems tilt
with the weight
of each blooming globe
Even their sharp scent
is defiant
Swaying in the wind
after a hard rain
they toss their heads:
Don’t call me beauty
And I can almost
convince myself
that acceptance
won’t really mean
surrender
Madeleine French lives in Florida and Virginia with her husband. Her work appears or is forthcoming in The Madrigal, Black Fork Review, Loch Raven Review, West Trade Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal,The Westchester Review, and elsewhere. You may find her on Twitter, @maddiethinks.