by KARA ALLEN, CSU Public Relations Assistant
This week, I give you a story of cheating told through the representation of an orchid. This is actually a poetic rewrite of a much longer story I wrote a few years ago. A story of the pain that is hidden beneath smiles and indebted forgiveness. I encourage you to stand up for who you are and to stand for your truth, because you are worth it. I present to you, “A Wilted Orchid”.
“It was one time. It was just a mistake.” A mistake. Just a mistake. My mouth holds back that a shattered heart is an intention, not a slip up So I lift up my chin to face your guiltless eyes once more, And I challenge my own integrity with hopeful justification. “It was just a one time thing,” I whispered through a broken voice. “ you still love me…?” And just as I hoped for and dreaded simultaneously: that damn perfect hand holds my cheek. I sigh. You smile. And through one simple transaction, my world is sewn back together. I’m still hurt by you. And I’m still enamored by your reckless typhoon of charisma. You know this. And you play your cards well. So as my answers to your questions remain short and my giggles remain quiet, You bring home an orchid for me from the grocery store. White, with a splash of purple on the petals. I smell it and sink into its comfort. “Do you love it?” you ask me with a confident grin. I nod and realize I am indebted to your thoughtfulness. So the twinge of disloyalty that I see entangled in your lips is washed with gratitude. The orchid sits in the crystal vase from my mother. A dying orchid with the facade of beauty Drenched in sunlight in a sparkling home. My friends tell me I’m lucky to have a fairytale romance. With forgiveness. And sacrifice. And I tell them they’ll find it someday too. But I love the wilted orchid. I understand the wilted orchid. Because I feel just like her.
Kara Allen is a CSU Public Relations Assistant and is currently a Senior studying Communications at Minnesota State Mankato. Kara is from Grand Rapids, MN and has grown up loving to write in her free time; finding the hidden idiosyncrasies within herself through the writing. She plans on pursuing a career in Public Relations for the U.S. Army and continuing on with writing for enjoyment.
