Petal By Petal

I remember … painting

the oils and watercolors, charcoal drawings

of a musclebound Marlboro man and four-hour poses

of a well-rounded woman -

both in the nude

and paid by the hour.

Then something happened -

doctors unclear - light became terrible,

sounds unbearable.

Like a caged bird -

a prisoner in bed -

I was weak and depressed....

without any power.

With time as my friend,

I started to mend...

but the virus, the gene -

call it whatever -

had taken its toll... walking, painting, driving,

everything – a challenge.

But I could create art,

petal by petal,

from a pressed flower.

Art & Poem ©L G Rogers 2021