by Helen Kelly

Created on: June 01, 2008   Last Updated: June 09, 2008

The old rose bush stood at attention in my front yard. He was a gnarly, knobby, thorny old thing. When we first rented the little house where he had lived for so many years, I almost felt like I had to ask for his permission to be there. He was over-grown from many years of neglect. Wooded canes grew out from the bottom, and he was a sad, shabby sight. "That plant has been here for about 50 years" said my landlady. "I was going to have it removed, but I rented to you before I could take care of it"

He allowed me to take care of him. I watered him, and made sure he knew I was interested in his welfare. I always kept my distance so I would not to let him know what I had in mind. I had to wait many months for the weather to grow cool and crisp. Finally. I crept up on him one day, pruning his long dead canes, and carefully removing the dead leaves from his thorny interior. He bit me. Drawing blood with one of his huge, sharp thorns. I pulled my hand back, sucking on my wound, and vowed never to touch him without gloves again.
He reminded me of my Dad. He was a gruff, edgy old guy. A war hero with a Silver Star he kept in a drawer, and never talked about much. He had his problems. I think the war scarred him forever. He loved my mother. Beautiful gifts, candy, flowers. I know he loved me too. He loved all of us. It was just hard for him to talk about it. He had a quick wit, and a great sense of humor. He was very successful in business. We lived in a huge house in a very affluent area. He gave us a lot. Ponies, braces, cars. If only I had felt closer to him. He drank too much, and turned into someone who wasn't very nice. I remember the emotional wounds he inflicted without his realizing how deep they went. In his fifties, he gave up the drinking. " Just stopped" my mother said.
I put a bandage on my hand. I wasn't going to let a little blood deter me from conquering the old rose bush. I knew that inside of him were so many beautiful flowers, just dying to burst forth. I fed my old rose bush, and paid extra attention to his needs. I dug up the dirt around him, and built a berm to keep the water in. Hoping, hoping.
The old bush began to respond. I saw some new, healthy shoots making their way towards the sun. Suddenly, there were so many buds coming out of my old nemesis, that even I was impressed with how much my nurturing had accomplished. Tight green buds, that opened with the color of sunshine! The wonderful smell filled the air, and attracted a whole world

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