Don’t Be Surprised

I have always been drawn to vined plants. How beautiful that they start out as they adorable tendrils. Reaching. Curling. Discovering. Conquering. Rhizomes do this too. Growing and stretching to cover a space. Only, they press through the dark dirt before shooting to the skies instead of taking to the open air. Here’s a piece based on that…

Don’t be surprised.
You took your eyes from me for “just a moment.”
I know.
It was “only a moment.”
The confusion scrawled across your features says it all.
You thought I might wither while you looked away.
You thought I might stay contained in my container.
You thought, maybe, I might bear a flower or berry or two.
You did not expect this.
You did not expect feral.
You did not expect exponential growth,
To find me spilling over the sides,
To find me straight-backed and tall.
You did not expect me to thrive, untended.
There is no going back now.
I am new and you will never truly get all those pieces back inside again.
This is born of truth, not spite.
You are free now; no longer do I need keeping.
Enjoy this new version of you.
And don’t be surprised when you come back to find a new version of me.