Forgive me —
Every year, the wild yellow rosebush outside my parents’ house
Riots and rebels with glorious abandon
And every year,
I’m too busy burning alive to notice it doing the same
I don’t deserve it
You would appreciate it far better than me —
The rosebush roars anyway
A queen who needs no subjects
A lioness who needs no prey
Poem by Kaitlyn Bancroft
Kaitlyn Bancroft is a reporter with KSL.com in Salt Lake City, Utah. Previously, she’s written for The Salt Lake Tribune, The Spectrum & Daily News (part of the USA TODAY NETWORK), The Denver Post, Deseret News, and The Davis Clipper. Her poetry has been featured on Every Writer, in Illumen Magazine and in Wingless Dreamer’s 2021 Halloween anthology Whispers of Pumpkin. Follow her work on Twitter @katbancroft or on Instagram @katbancroftreports.