William’s Tea Roses

You complained of roses
Recklessly blooming,
A debauchery of buds 
Reddening too soon.
An indiscreet eruption of petals
Wasting exhausted at your door.

Meanwhile a heart,
That tight little bud of fear and longing,
Quietly burst in its green casement
Reddening the chest cavity with a private efflorescence
And without the embarrassment of a clutter of petals
Died unnoticed before noon.