Paragon

By Virginia Weidenfeld (faculty)

She’s like the amaryllis that I bought

the year that she turned five. We planted it 

together and put it in a place I thought

would suit it well, so warm and brightly lit.

It was a triple amaryllis, so

it grew not one but three large blooms upon

each stem, and was so heavy that, although

the bulb was deep, those blooms, the paragon 

of beauty, toppled all and broke the stem.

My lovely daughter now, at seventeen, 

is valued for her face. And I condemn

a world that makes her care how she is seen.

Like the amaryllis, must she be 

damaged by the weight of her own beauty?

Photo by Megan Wenig ‘20