A Perfect Gift

“In Search of the Perfect Gift.”
Even though I have only known you for a short time,
I have come to consider you a very dear friend.
No one but you has ever accepted me for what I really am.
I wanted to give you something meaningful.
“The perfect gift.”

My first thought was a single long stem red rose.
After all, it symbolizes many great romances and true love.
Nevertheless, as I contemplated this possibility, I had to consider that,
A cut rose for all its beauty, soon withers and dies.
It leaves nothing but wilted petals and a memory of something that once was.

There was to be, no quick end for my Quest.

Next, my thoughts turned to something more enduring, a diamond ring.
A gold ring has neither a beginning nor end and last forever untarnished.
Moreover, diamonds seems to hold a fire of its own at its heart.
However, a ring was not quite right; people change and grow as do relationships.
Although they endure through the years, they are often put aside to collect dust.

The task I set for myself is defiantly greater than I had anticipated.

Then I thought of a budding rose.
A sight in and of itself, with potential to blossom into something wonderful.
My hopes departed as quickly as they came.
For Potential is all the Rosebud has.
It will never blossom into a rose its, life and future was stolen.

My quest for the perfect gift was not over yet.

It came to one day; I could follow in the footsteps of many a great Artist.
Should I paint her likeness, immortalize her forever in the words of a sonnet.
This would only capture a moment in time and not allow change.
Changes in temperament and the over coming of flaws is the Spice of life.
Thoughts and memories are best left to dreams where they can live forever.

By now, I thought my search for the perfect gift was in vain.

Then one day, while walking in my garden I found a plain brown seed under a rosebush.
Plain and ordinary, but given the chance it will become something beautiful.
It changes just as people and relationships have to.
It is full of life and never dies, because it lives on thoughts of its offspring.
Finally, I have found the perfect gift a true expression of how I feel.

However, in truth the only perfect gift is Unconditional Love.