the little red flower,
oh how it pulls its strings on that little child's heart!
lovingly, longingly, respectfully
does he stare at the minute paper flower cupped in his tiny palms.
Yet, the one he held so dear was not his,
for he didn't:
dress himself today,
he peed on his bed,
he didn't wash his hands
and he peed on purpose, in his pants!
truth is, that little boy has never gotten a flower before!
No matter how hard he tried,
everything just seemed too difficult for him,
an unattainable accomplishment.
Every little child in the orphanage had at least
one little red paper flower
except him.
Alas, he has gotten his rightfully earned flower,
its petals slightly crinkled and yellowed with age.
It was not his.
Guilt gnawed endlessly at his heart,
part of him yearned for it so badly,
another part urged him mercilessly to return it.
Tears streamed down his chubby face.
Oh how he wanted it, how he wanted it!
But, he realised he did not deserve that little red flower.
So, carefully, he daintily places it back where it belongs,
to its rightful and deserving owner, such an obedient girl.
She was the blue-eyed girl of the class,
ever ready to lead her peers,
always prepared to show them
how to change into
pajamas and back into the school uniform.
This was something the boy could not do.

With much enthusiasm and determination in his beating heart,
this little boy has decided that
he will get
his own
little
red
flower.