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Printed from https://writing.com/main/books/entry_id/881646-Daddy-and-the-Crepe-Myrtle
by Rhyssa Author IconMail Icon
Rated: 18+ · Book · Contest Entry · #2081410
my entries for the Construct Cup
#881646 added May 9, 2016 at 12:15am
Restrictions: None
Daddy and the Crepe Myrtle
Dad butchered
the crepe myrtle,
cut it back until it was
nothing more than
two thin sticks sprouted
from a common root.

it was time, he said,
too many branches
overburdening the top
means not enough flowers
reaching out to touch
the sky.

we laughed that winter,
as we passed the tiny
stumps in the middle
of the lawn in a bed
of daffodils.
we laughed because
Dad was overzealous,
a certified killer,
too quick with the pruning
shears—too ready to
chop gratuitously.

until spring came,
and buds formed,
and leaves and branches
came thick and fast
as though the tree had been
waiting for someone
to give it a new path.

and the flowers.
we had never seen such
flowers as erupted,
pink and vibrant
on that butchered tree.

Prompt for: May 8, 2016

© Copyright 2016 Rhyssa (UN: sadilou at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Rhyssa has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
Printed from https://writing.com/main/books/entry_id/881646-Daddy-and-the-Crepe-Myrtle