woe wields wilting

It is often said that the rose represents the eternal bond of love. However, the tragedy is that even the eternal rose will wilt and shed it's petals only to be replaced by the lily, daisy, and whatever else basks in the glass vase atop the kitchen sink.

You see, long, long, long ago, the beautiful rose lived in a haven of peace and prosperity; she was admired by many and known to be the fairest flower that ever did live, yet the rose was unwilling to yield her love to any such orchid, hydrangea, or iris that begged for her hand. She was waiting for the first flower to see her for her thorns as well as just her petals.

One day, the black dahlia stumbled into the rose's field. The black dahlia was immediately transfixed by the beautiful rose and, in a fit of passion, entangled his stem on the rose's prickled thorn. The rose gasped when she saw the black dahlia lying beside her with his stem split open. She asked him why he would do such a thing to which the dahlia replied, "I wished to know if pain by your thorns is as beautiful as the embrace by your petals, and I now find that I would prick myself a thousand times to feel such bliss." The rose was speechless and, inevitably, she fell hopelessly in love with the black dahlia who, with time, healed from his wound.

Months after the pair's first meeting, a new flower moved into the field. The white dahlia. The rose welcomed the white dahlia with open arms, thankful to have a new friend. However, as the days went by, the black dahlia grew distant from the rose and would often leave the rose feeling insecure and upset, wondering if she'd hurt him without knowing. The poor, sweet rose was unaware that the black dahlia had fallen for the white dahlia. The white dahlia was jealous of the rose's timeless beauty and she wished to covet it for herself. She told the black dahlia that, if he truly loved her, he would steal one of the rose's petals for her.

So, one night, as the rose slept, the black dahlia swiped one of her petals to give it to the envious flower who, upon receiving the petal, fixed it to her own white ones.

When the rose awoke to find her petal, and her two companions missing, she wept in anguish. The rose was in disbelief that her goodwill had been taken advantage of like this andthe heartbreak of having her love taken from her was too much for her to bear. The rose started losing all but one of her petals as the days went by and years later, the black dahlia returned to that very field.

He was sheepish and regretful when explaining that the white dahlia had turned into a magnificent purple soon after wearing the rose's petal, and that she had left him for another flower. The black dahlia begged the rose to take him back, and that he couldn't believe he betrayed her as he did.

The rose told him that she was no longer beautiful and her petals were long gone; she asked him if he could still love her. He said yes. The rose, however, could not forgive his betrayal and told him she could no longer be with him. The black dahlia, unable to live with the pain he had caused the rose, flung himself onto her thorns until his stem ripped all the way down; he fell amidst the field in an eternal slumber. The rose tore her remaining petal and laid it across the dahlia's broken stem. As time went on, the rose soon passed and newer flowers occupied the field. However, the petal that was once on the black dahlia's body remained vibrant and alive.

Henceforth, all flowers began to lose their petals eventually as a reminder of how impermanent love can be, but also how withstanding it is. The rose loved the black dahlia enough to forsake her last petal for him despite the betrayal and anguish. So, regardless of how love will end or continue, it's presence and memory are reflected in the wilting petals that signify the inevitability of death but the transcendence of love.