By Irene Fu
Her orchid-hues in the summer sun Turn into lavender, come the night (ever so somber!) She spans five keen lifetimes where she was adorned, in marching parades and countless battles How many pedestrians walk by her and marvel at her glory, her beauty How ‘thin and sharp’ her petals would be, and people would tease their children to not touch those needles Her name means ‘star’, one who takes the stage– But perhaps she doesn’t know it yet. Line of dawn. That fresh dew that sprays the sky when you step out on a Pleasant day. Perhaps mood just right, perhaps blinking those eyes finally clear of smoke You might as well head over to The really tall grass blades by your front yard (that NEED trimming, by the way) and hope to discover A figure Ever so definite It pops up from the dust right up your lane, leaving you to marvel Whereby its scenic pieces could have arrived It initiates wonder and you miraculously End up at your vocal teacher’s house Eardrums packed with ringing tones of A sharps (not pluses) and eccentric piano backings I think of how, like, aster, right It is a morning glory, in a sense For not even Ms. Vocal has such exquisite gardening technique to produce that non-replicable trumpet hollow But ironically, morning glory is most common, despite its not-so-commonly-portrayed shape in children’s cartoons and dentist TV and whatnot When they think of ‘flower’, they think of Morning glory But when they try learning about cute daisies in kindergarten They’re depicting the aster Leave it to merriam-webster.com to tell you that “Aster is a species of daisy” “Morning is the time from sunrise (or midnight) to noon” “Glory is prosperity, achievement” “the splendor of heaven” But in our world Aster is the morning and Aster is the glory I conferred such a question to my mom An expert of the color “purple” A royalty of her own My question received no echo; yet, I gained every response September Not a reminder of “Ugh a Monday again, how many more days?” “Gee look at her so genius and famous in this school!” “How would you react if you’re the one dissecting a plant?” Not a privilege Not a quick 30 suns and moons of sprouting flowers But a phenomenon Prettiness A start Velvet lining When you peel open that lining Remember to pick up two buds by the weeds on the sidewalk And adorn it with your crown That is the aster of glory you are looking for.
The Roar 