Flowers From A Funeral

I thought if I took the flowers home Flowers from a funeral For a friend A friend whose face Looked unfamiliar Unaware I was even there Unsure if she'd really care For cotton candy carnations Lavender last goodbyes A burly man carried The carefully concocted Cascades of colorful blooms Close to the dumpster The day after He, disconnected from the despair That dangled about my thoughts But thought well enough To stop long enough To catch my stare And spare the sprigs and sprays Of fresh freesia From the squashing stench Of the sanitation truck's crunching And handed them over to me Like presenting a beauty queen Her lavish winning bouquet At home, with the hum Of a well working furnace I put forth gallant effort Picking purple plumes From the florist's Generic green foam That held her final farewell Gathered, I did in diligent work Each vase from a collection of years And brought to tears Thinking if I watered them well Placed beneath the light Of my favorite window sill Their fragrance to fill My sadly lit room Maybe, just maybe she'd stay Awhile, share one more smile Before being ready to say goodbye Even the most beautiful bouquets Wither wilt and die