The cacti know what they are by Sam Rose

The ivy would take over the house

if we let it.

I water my indoor cacti once per week

and I forget

that the roses need more attention than this. 

Don’t we all?

The cacti know what they are because

they have been placed in white pots

with little cartoon cacti all over them.

Prickly plant uniform.

The roses aren’t in the pots with the cacti

on them because I don’t want to confuse them.

It’s hard not to be complacent when faced

with so many plants, this much shrubbery.

The least we can do is not cause harm.

I release a leaf trapped in the window.

The ivy would take over this house

if we let it.

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Sam Rose is a writer from Northamptonshire, England and is the editor of Peeking Cat Poetry Magazine. Her work has appeared in Barely South Review, Scarlet Leaf Review, Rat’s Ass Review, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Haiku Journal, and others. She is a three times cancer survivor and is studying for her PhD, researching the role of poetry in psycho-oncology. Find her at her website https://www.writersam.co.uk and on Twitter @writersamr.