Petal By Petal

Petal by petal, leaf by leaf
I have stripped you.
Branch by branch, bark
And roots,
I have exposed you
To the sun, to the elements,
The wind and the rain.

How well I know you now,
Naked before me
And shivering in the starkness
Of your foibles and miscalculations
And the blackness of your treachery
But still so beautiful
That I put my coat around you
And invite you to come inside
To sit next to me where it is warm.

I see you. I know you. I forgive you.
I accept you --
Petal by petal, leaf by leaf,
Down to your stem.