Two Sisters

Two Sisters

Petals of rarest hothouse bloom,
Red as her lips and half as sweet.
Her friend is miles below in order,
Ragweed to her delicate rose.
Two sisters, as different as the seasons,
Inevitable as an avalanche.
Time weathers differently,
One grows in beauty,
Aging with style and grace.
Sister seems ridden hard by the years,
Dry and wrinkled, fat and grey,
Time has not been as kind.
When they were young they sang songs,
Voices different in pitch but both sweet,
Now one still sings like a nightingale,
But the other is left with horse croak.
Why has time cheated one so greatly?
Life is equal only in its harshness,
It's unfair cold face.
Luck blesses who it wishes,
Capricious as a child, as spring.
Now in the winter of life,
Two sisters as different as flavors,
Face the same darkness,
Rushing up with terrible swiftness,
And both, no matter how gently time has treated them,
Stand in awe, in fear,
Shielded only by faith,
Scant warmth when facing the frigid abyss.