Cactus Flower

on healing fear of intimacy through vulnerability

Joshua Tree 15x15” Acrylic on Wood- 2025

Deprived, yet alive

I’ve never known true love,

only through hardship,

I find meaning,

only the cuts and bruises,

that leave me sweating and bleeding,

scraped by cactus,

wild nights with coyotes screaming,

the cost of getting closer to you.

~

Dehydrated I learn,

to live on less,

and with breadcrumbs,

I glow as the sun burns,

harsher the winds,

the greater trust earned,

I digress,

washed up and strung out,

left with a cracked lips and a dry mouth.

~

My edges are sharp now too,

don’t get to close,

or my spines will stab you.

~

Seduced by scorching rays,

woo’ed by whipping winds,

and the coyote plays,

emptying nights eroded me,

the desert days told me,

you are as you are,

worn thin and exemplary,

stripped and baren

naked truth of the temporary.

~

One day, I realize,

I am who I am,

My petals spread wide,

I find my composure,

Speaking the unspoken,

Still spikes on my skin,

with moments of closure,

the armor an ally

as well as exposure.

~

Knowing like the lizard

when to seek shade,

not to speak to birds of prey.

I am a cactus flower,

lovely with allure,

careful with the caress,

it takes time to undress,

these hidden cracks in my scorched dirt.

Inside a well of resources,

I’ve learned to conserve.

~

Embarking on the journey,

among the joshua trees,

I trust true love finds you,

in raw authenticity,

inclusive of cuts, scrapes, and scars,

dusty air,

fox traps and snares,

scorpions and snakes,

in pink hues, and soft light,

all encompassed in my wake,

in the glare of naked skies,

in silent nights.

~

We are who we are,

expanded here under the sun and stars.