i am the 

yellow carnation 

in a garden of vibrant white daisies. 

nobody wants to love

my blossoming of a body –

i am stripped of my petals every time 

a boy reminds me that i will never be enough. 

surprisingly, i am picked

to be in his vase with other yellow carnations 

and we find comfort in his home. 

but only two days go by, 

he pulls our legs out of the water

and throws us into his backyard. 

we are laying in the dirt & grass,

he kills us off before we had the chance to say goodbye. 

he replaces us with white daisies. 

he smiles. 

he loves the brightness they bring into his home. 

my arms wrap around the other carnations.

our legs can’t root into the dirt anymore.

we sob as our yellow petals fly into the wind. 

Calista Ogburn

cogburn1@umbc.edu

Drawing by Ceyda Baysal.

Join us on Friday, November 1st from 12-1 p.m. to unplug, recharge, meditate, and reflect in nature through mindful Meditation Hikes on the Herbert Run Greenway and CERA (Conservation and Environmental Research Area) trails.  We will meet promptly at 12 noon at the True Grit statue in front of the Retriever Activities Center (RAC). 

The hike will take 1 hour.  Co-sponsored by UMBC Wellness Initiative, Sustainability Matters at UMBC and the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture.

Sign up here.