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Self-Portrait as a Flower

Laurel Galford

But not the part about the bloom

or the beauty,

self portrait as the open petals

over-exposed to the light,

their color bleached.


Self portrait as the pollen

pouring out of itself,

the stem growing thin,

wilting in the night.


Self portrait as the seeds

falling to the ground,

awaiting to be reborn.

Laurel Galford (she/her) is a queer social worker, aspiring writer, and likely in the middle of reading three books at one time. She has been writing poetry since she was in elementary school, starting with writing haikus with her father, and participated in online writing workshops such as Write Your Heart In with Andrea Gibson and Poems That Don’t Suck with Megan Falley, two poets that greatly inspire her. When not writing, Laurel can be found rock climbing, talking about astrology or adding more books to the pile next to her bed.

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