Where Scapegoats Grow on Trees

Follow the flower wherever it goes
be it a zinnia, aster, or rose

I can't do this
I'm not a flower

I just can't go there

I can't stand in one place

I move

I sneeze

I stand without wavering

in a breeze

I accidentally rhyme

can a flower do this

all a flower can do

is be perfect as it is

I can't do it because I'm not a flower
make major mistakes by the hour
but flowers don't live long
I am worth a thousand flowers
if you measure life in human years
which I do

also I move
my mind moves
my feet moves
my tongue moves
every part of me moves
all a flower moves is mountains
I have to go over mountains
or around them
the long way
where is the justice in that

where are the scapegoats
flowers make terrible scapegoats
they're beautiful
they hurt no one
not even the rose
that's the thorns
there's nothing wrong with flowers
they are blameless
but they can't move
which is why they're perfect scapegoats
pollen may get away
but the flowers can't
I can't be a flower
I move
or can I
since it's not up to me

Larry Piltz
Flower Cove
Austin, Texas