They’ve lived side by side

for many years

ignoring one another

preoccupied with

their own growth

their own splendor

Then they bothnoticed

the other

no major attraction

or desire

but over time

attitudes change

and feelings shift

the story takes on multiple twists

about who noticed whom

first

who made the first advance

who wanted more that

just a tryst

Now they are so entwined

arms enveloping a

breath breathing into breaths

faces pressed cheek to cheek

bodies molded

to separate them

would surely lead

to death

they have grown as one

flowering and complementing

each other’s beauty

the pink-lavender petals

of the cedar and the

bodacious red of the bougainvillea

a marriage that reminds

us all that hope reigns supreme