Once upon a time in a long forgotten garden, stood a single Rose. Every dawn she aRose, to draw her strength and nutrition from the surrounding elements, for she had three buds attached that depended on her, to provide what they needed in order to grow. And this, she had realized was her reason for being.

One day a stranger with a lawn mower came along. He looked into this garden, and was enchanted for amid the neglect and debris was a sight of beauty, a single Rose. He must posses it But like so many throughout the years, the stranger not seeing with a caring, sensitive heart came close to destroying the Rose. He sat about improving the garden and realized that the task he laid before himself was too much work to bring the garden to it's full beauty, and decided to just mow the garden down. He ran over the Rose, and laughed "Oh well, you got in my way, there are many more gardens, so I'll just be on my way, oh and have a nice day, Dear."

The Rose looked about, desperate in her hopes to find another in the garden who might be able to help nurse the wounds and deep cuts left by the uncaring stranger and his lawn mower. But alas she, was all alone. Having been run over by lawn mowers before, the Rose realized that in time, the elements would bring her back to life. But she was so deeply cut and very frail. All her strength was being used to provide the nourishment her offspring required in order to ensure their life cycle.

Then one day a Gardener with a spark of life twinkling in his eyes came upon the wounded, fallen Rose. Her fragrance filled his head with such delightful thoughts, her petals felt as gentle as a warm summers breeze, her beauty filled his heart, which had been longing for so many years. This Rose, was all the Gardener had been seeking in order to fulfill his own desires of Love, Life and Happiness.

He picked up the Rose, which was laying crushed and to one side, and provided her with support. He moved away the debris and the weeds, to ensure the suns warmth was penetrating her roots. Every morning he would come into the garden, about 6:30am, to see if the nurturing he was providing the Rose was having a positive effect.

He spoke to the Rose, every day and every night, making sure the Rose knew someone cared about her. Giving her the reasons to want to grow strong. He even brought her other Roses, which he lay at her roots, as a reminder of what beauty lay ahead for her.

And as each day passed, the Gardener felt a longing when he was not with the Rose, he grew dependent upon her beauty and fragrance to shield him too from the harshness of the surrounding world. But he could feel the Roses resist. The Rose, feeling so lonely in the garden was fighting a terrible relaxation, that Gardeners, too also had lawn mowers. But her Gardener had only showed her love and patience and had returned to her the desire for life that had been so harshly taken. She had gotten strength from his support, and grew to want his embracing concern for her. He was providing her with a gift she had lost oh so very long ago, and that was hope.

The Gardener, having decided that he must have this Rose for his own garden, realized he was spending all his time in the garden where the Rose grew. He filled the Roses thoughts with hopes of a wondrous future, and explained to the Rose life would be so much easier if she would agree to live within his garden, Pointing out there was really no reason to remain within her own garden, for it was robbing her of the very life she needed. He let the Rose believe that if she moved into his garden he would not only continue to nurture her, but they would be closer to each other, working together to find the beauties that life held for them. After exposing her three buds to the Gardener, she watched as he cared for them as he had cared for her. She allowed the Gardener to be a part of their lives, she agreed to let him uproot her and her family, and transplant them into his own garden. The day she agreed was significant, for it was Christmas, when Christ was born to provide the world with hope. Reflecting back it had been such a fitting day, a day of faith, trust and hope. To be tragically replaced so abruptly with despair. For the Rains came and the Gardener soon resented the work. He had the Rose and her three buds, he posed her and her beauty, but for some reason, completely unknown to the Rose the Gardener had lost sight of the promises she held for him.

Wanting to express to the Gardener how much she appreciated his support, how much she believed in him, how grateful she was for a future for her and her buds, she wanted to give back the beauty of life that the Gardener had shared with her. But she was aware that the Gardener stopped seeing the beauty. For he had not saw the Rose using all her strength to grow and become lush, branching out to beautifying his garden and in the process making it her own, No the Gardener only saw her branches taking over his garden. He forgot that he could provided her with a trellis she would grow in the direction he would rather her grow. He got made, when her branches went into another garden, assuming she did not like where she was, not realizing she did not know where to go anymore, for he had planted her in this strange garden removed his support and his nurturing and left her to just be.

She could not understand, what made him forget the reasons he had fallen in love with her, why did he forget she needed his nurturing, that she had now grown to depend upon, he forgot that she and her three buds needed his support. In a matter of weeks, it all changed so abruptly. The Rose, was now just in another garden, but this one provided her with windows into the Gardener's home, where she watched and wondered why? And as the rains began to fall, they too began to wash away her support. The uprooting and transplanting had left her weak, and the Gardener's indifference she could not understand.

She watched as he would come into the garden, to inspect what he now owned, taking the time to embrace her beauty and smell her wondrous scent, but once he had his fill of her, he would move on to visit his other plants. She felt despair as he left her to fend on her own, while he went to tend other gardens that he cared for and to seek out new gardens to explore. She tried getting his attention by wrapping her branches around his legs and pleading with him to please provide the nurturing she had grown to depend on. To please once again love her.. . . . . but he just became annoyed and broke off the branches, resenting that she was invading his garden and creating work for him.

The Rose, realized the Gardener did not care for her any longer. She stood broken, and drained. Robbed of the resources for life itself, wondering what she had done to deserve the neglect. She cried out WHY, dear God why does life have to be so cruel? I have to fight for every breath I take in order to provide for my off spring. She too stopped caring if she was beautiful, for what good was it doing her. She stopped caring if her buds would someday bloom, for the gardens she had been in never provided her with anything that she wanted to pass along to her youth. As she watched the rains wash away the soil at her roots, she grew thorns, knowing there was nothing she could do. For when she asked the Gardener, what happened, she only heard excuses in the answers he had given her. `He had no Energy', `He had no money for her nutritional needs', he had no desire to give back to her what she had been giving to him. The Rose could only conclude that the Gardener apparently did not feel he could keep such beauty from dying within his garden. He did not realize that he had so much power over her very existence, he did not have the courage, strength or energy to be all that HE wanted to be for her. So he gave her nothing, hoping the memories would soon fade away from her thoughts. It was working.....

The branches started to die away from the overgrowth. The rain had ripped her leaves and bruised her petals, the heady scent was fading to just a lingering memory, for there was no Gardener to come along and shield her from life's storms, nor to tell her she was a gift of life, a thing of beauty, a joy to possess.

After the years of being ran over by lawn mowers, trying to provide the best environment for her growing buds, the Rose was now very weak. This life is only about having a patch of earth to reside on while you wait to die. There is no joy, happiness, pleasure, it's all an illusion, to make you want to face each new day. No one really gives a shit, unless your part of their wants and needs.......

WHAT ABOUT ME!?!, she cries out to the world and to her Gardener, WHAT HAVE I DONE!?! Why did you fill my heart and head with hope, when you could have just left me to die in the place in which you found me? Why, Dear God, does life have to be so painful?