Daisies
Mama, I don’t like the flowers he gave you.
He gave you a bouquet of perfectly fine white daisies,
But he bought them from the grocery store.
And the grocery store, put the white daisies
In a vase of yellow dyed water
So they could be yellow.
They were splattered with pink and blue acrylic paint.
Mama, I think they are ugly.
You like them anyways, because
HE gave them to you.
You put them on display
In a transparent vase,
In the middle of your wooden kitchen table
For everyone to see.
Mama, do you know what daisies symbolize?
Motherhood.
New beginnings.
New life.
I wonder if someone gave you a bouquet of daisies when you met me?
A white
Freshly cut from the earth
Beautiful bouquet of daisies.
If I gave you flowers, I would give you a bouquet of daisies,
To remind you of when you cultivated me
And brought me into the world.
Mama, HE should have given you a bouquet of red roses.
The most beautiful flower in the world.
To let you know:
That you are the queen of his garden.
That he loves you fiercely and passionately.
But
HE bought you yellow dyed soaked
Pink and blue splattered
Grocery store
Daisies
But you love them anyways,
And if that makes you happy
I guess I’m okay with that.
If a man gave me daisies,
I wouldn’t accept them.
Only a single
Red
Rose
In that dainty
Crystal vase,
Because I deserve it.
Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.
Why don't the boys love me?
Simply because,
I cannot accept anything else
Just waiting
To be given
That one
Single
Red
Rose
Growing up in Southeast Louisiana, outside of New Orleans, Shelbey was always inspired by nature and art. She was raised among a lineage of natural storytellers on both sides of her family. As a young adult, Shelbey explored this through storytelling ethnography. She studied at the University of New Orleans where she obtained her bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Urban Society with disciplines in: education, english, and anthropology. You can read her scholarly work “Upfront: A Way of Life on Barataria Boulevard” at scholarlyworks.uno.edu Leco, Shelbey. “A Way of Life on Barataria Boulevard.” A Guide to South Louisiana: Stories of Uncommon Culture, edited by Rachel Breunlin, Neighborhood Story Project, 2017.