BY ANY OTHER HAND

When thrones grow larger than roses
the battle for beauty becomes that much more evident
when peddles are protected from human hands
wanting to pick them.

In one's youth
skin is loose
and bones are strong
yet in time they tighten,
becoming painfully delicate and fragile.
Too ugly to be touched.
Too ugly to be picked.
Like thorns.

And in the end,
as all things in life,
both the beautiful and the ugly,
are touched by winter.

The rose
and the thorn
will feel a human hand,
a hand that by any other name,
will bring it to an end.

By Any Other Hand by Shazza Nakim
Copyright © by Peace of Mind Publishings and with permission by Shazza Nakim