He kept his heirloom,
a silver glass rose,
yellow gold trim,
in a glass display
case, Never took it
out for fear it would
be bent, scratched,
or broken. For
years,
the
rose
felt

____________________________________neglected,
___________________________________abandoned even,
___________________________________failed to see
___________________________________the
__________________________________dist
_________________________________ance
_________________________________tothe
_________________________________hard,
_____ _____________________unforgiving
_______________________floor, the jagged
________________________corners of door
________________________________frames
_______________________________andthe jutting furniture,
_______________________________the ___unpredictability
______________________________ofthe ______boisterous dogs.
______________________________Then
______________________________one
______________________________day,
______________________________she
______________________________saw through
_____________________________ the __window,
______________________another rose,
__________________not unlike herself,
____________________being __handed
___________________________fromthe
__________________________owner
__________________________tohis neighbor;
__________________________They dropped her.
__________________________Sight, ___horror,
__________________________realiz
__________________________ation.
__________________________Hisrose
_________________________thenknew
_________________________howmuch_he loved her,
_________________________why he_ kept her, protected
_________________________her so, and she loved him so
_________________________much___more.