GARDENIAS

by Caroline Rubin

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The gardenias in my front yard
have lost their grace

their bodies like pages yellowed
in the feverish breath of a Florida summer.

I understand all beauty is finite.
Summers like breaking
waves age us, abrade our luster.

As a child I used to watch the flowers
float like imperfect angels–

I would comb
through their fragrant petals–
plucking tiny black beetles.

Today, there is an emptiness
inside me I cannot name–
frail beetles roam
the garden of my skin.

I have tried so hard to be
beautiful—I have forgotten
the taste of rain on my tongue–

What living thing
can claim the word beauty
as its own?

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Caroline Rubin is a poet from Naples, Florida whose poetry has been published in Parallax Online, Navigating the Maze, the Jewish Literary Journal, and more. She is a graduate of the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio. Caroline’s work has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and the NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing. She will be attending Harvard College in the Fall of 2023. 
carolinerubin.com

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