Haibun: Seeing Flowers

Brushing up against a cactus, it’s hard to see the flowers within, but they are there. The thorns are the threat, they are what we all focus on. But inside, someplace inside this rugged anchor of the Sonoran Desert are these flowers.

Make no mistake, the pain is sharp if you get to close. I’ve gotten to close and had to stop the bleeding from multiple punctures.

But there’s a flower inside, an important insight to carry inside of me the next time I want to ignore the homeless man asking for a dollar.

cactus blooms begin

with flowers within, thorns out

spring reaches full shout