The Rose That Waited

Tucked beside the stone wall, nearly hidden by bolder greens and louder bloomers, this quiet rose came back from nothing. We didn’t plant it. We didn’t even know it was there.

For decades it sat in the shadow of towering sycamores, biding its time. We'd cut the trees back last spring, they’d overstayed their welcome; and this spring, while planting summer bulbs, I noticed this flush of hopeful green had began to rise.

It hasn’t flowered yet.

But the leaves are rich and full, some tinged with copper where new life pushes through. There’s no scent of petals or sign of buds - only the quiet, determined growth of a rose that remembers its own name.

Some things are slow. Some things are stubborn. Some things simply wait for the right light.

This is hers.