Paperwhite

paperwhite you
forced to push 
through tangled

tender roots 
I've never known 
how hard your bloom 

in winter's bleakness 
your fair skin 
luminescent beneath

December's 
wise moon
knows death

and all we lose
you share secrets 
as she whispers 

on the longest nights 
behind sad eyes
I see rebirth 

with each month
your blood courses
aligns with her 

you grow more 
beautiful as all
of you blooms