Desiccated Rose.

As summer comes on in force, mature rose blossoms succumb to the heat. This one’s personality, what animated the bloom at its lascivious climax, seems to still be here, informing its dissolution. I admire its gorgeous raggedness and spent energy as it faces its demise and rebirth. 

“Maturity is … the ability, despite our grief and losses, to courageously inhabit the past the present and the future all at once.” (David Whyte, Consolations)