Secret Garden

In my garden where no one goes

all the flowers of my life grow .

A beautiful new flower for every milestone passed

in my garden so lovely and vast .

Beautiful blooms and scents so sweet,

a brand new bloom for every new face I meet.

A perfect blossom unfurls for me

On each perfect plant as far as the eye can see.

A perfect new blossom for every new day.

A perfect new blossom for every step along the way .

In my garden where no one goes

All the flowers of my life grow

So beautiful and sweet are these flowers of mine.

A beautiful carpet of colors to mark my time .

A perfect new blossom to add a new scent .

A wonderful new flower for all the time spent .

Breathe in deep and slow

And smell the history as my garden grows .

In my garden where no one can see

All my flowers slowly weep for me .

They fold up their leaves as each velvety soft petal falls

And bend low to the ground as the sun passes over my walls .

As darkness descends on this garden of mine

Fallen petals on the ground show the passage of time .

A new velvety soft petal for every new pain .

A new velvety soft petal for every opened vein .

In my garden where no one can see

My flowers so sweet are dying for me .

Every slight along the way

Means another petal falls today .

Every pain and every heartbreak

Every bad deed and every mistake .

Every new teardrop that is shed

And every anguished scream in my head .

Every bad thing I have faced on my path

Kills another flower and tears my heart in half .

My flowers so perfect and sweet

Cannot withstand the darkness I meet.

No sunlight so warm to feed them today

As clouds roll in and chase the sunlight away .

The darkness descends so fast

And hides all the color in my garden so vast .

In my garden where I stand alone

All the flowers of my life are gone .

Their velvety soft petals litter the ground

Falling faster and faster when no sun is found .

All the bad things added up along the way

And blotted out the brightness of day .

My beautiful little flowers and their petals so soft

Could not find nourishment when the light was lost.

Too many bad things happened to me

Too much hurt and pain and misery

Too many battles were fought right here

In my perfect garden so dear.

As life waged an endless war

And the storms took over more and more .

Battle after battle was fought right here

And all the flowers of my life disappeared .

Crushed during the battles so long

Under the boots of an enemy too strong .

A lone woman and her garden so sweet

Don't stand a chance when these forces meet .

Blow after blow she fends off in fear

As night after night the end draws near .

Exhausted and weary from the endless fight

Every day and every night .

Her strength ran out and she crumbled to the ground

And the breaking of her heart was the only sound.

In my garden where no one goes

The flowers of my life lay low .

Covered in the blood that was shed

Running in rivers from the bodies of the dead .

Life waged a war against a woman alone

in the sanctuary of her garden of stone.

Her flowers were beautiful soft and neat

With blooms so large and fragrant and sweet.

A carpet of colors so vivid and bright

From all the petals lost during the night .

This garden of hers that she held so dear

fooled them all when her flowers disappeared.

When she cried out in anguished despair

from all the stones that were thrown with no care .

She fell to her knees with her head hung low,

Beaten and bloody from all the blows.

Broken and weeping on her knees she stayed,

As the battle waged on day after day .

Life was going to win this time

No strength remained, her hands were tied.

Life rushed in to deal the final blow

To rip out the heart of this woman worn low .

But as life advanced through my garden so dear

I patiently waited until it drew near .

Like a phoenix from the ashes

I rose from the ground

And showed life what happens

When you are beaten down .

I used those stones thrown thrown at me over time

To rebuild this secret garden of mine .

Flowers so sweet as far as the eye could see

Hiding all those stones that were thrown at me.

I collected them all one at a time

And built a fortress around this garden if mine .

I made weapons and set traps

And prepared for the next attack.

And when life rushed in so swift and sure

I showed her what I had gained

From all the pain I bore .

A spine of steel held me straight

And the strength of a lifetime balanced the weight.

We battled and fought in the darkness so deep

But I was too strong now for life to beat .

When the battle was finished

And the smoke had cleared

I stood victorious in my garden so dear.