Meant To Be (CTPWC)

I happened upon a rose bush
growing in the wild
their petals a vibrant red
their scent was sweet and mild

I reached to pluck a flower
to pin up in my hair
when a voice from behind me
beckoned me leave it there

I turned to see an old woman
bent over with obvious age
her face was kind and gentle
her voice was free of rage

she didn't mean to scare me
she said with a kindly grin
you should stop to smell the roses
but leave them to smell again

she said that she planted the rose
many many years ago
it was a gift from her husband
and she had loved him so

It grew here every year
more lovely than the year before
much like the love they shared
for fifty years or more

he had died today she said
twenty years ago
we like to meet here on this day
to watch our roses grow

I'd bent my head for a moment
to again breath the fragrance in
and when I rose to speak
there was no one where she'd been

where she went I wondered
and I saw when I did stand
vanishing in the distance
the couple hand in hand

a love to last the ages
even an eternity
they stopped to smell the roses
it was as it was meant to be.

Simply Beautiful.

S&F

I'll be reading this to the woman I love.

Great job. Gave me chill bumps as I read it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
This is one of my favorite ones so far.
Quad

Thank you both very much!