Maravillas de la Ofrenda

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Sophia Melendez

 

She was an accident

She happened by chance

She was born to be beautiful

It was her only task

She was a late bloomer

She took her time

Part of beauty is patience,

Her owner would always remind

By spring she was in her element

She had fulfilled her destiny,

“They’re Marigolds!”

And so that was her name, Marigold.

But now what?

What was she meant to do?

She pondered as the sun and moon played hide and seek

The moon overtook the sun as the days passed

Her petals seemed to grow limper,

Her stem’s leaves slowly wilting,

And suddenly it was fall

And she felt the crisp breeze

And it appeared, which meant her time was up

She was plucked from her place

Marigold wasn’t ready to leave

But she had a greater purpose than she knew

Her petals were scattered around her owner’s ofrenda

And she helped guide souls back 

To be united on November First, Dia de Los Muertos 

 

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Sophia Melendez plans to graduate in 2025 and is majoring in psychology. She is from South River, New Jersey, a small town next to East Brunswick. She likes to immerse herself in music, so much so that there are very few moments in her day where she is not listening to a song.

She wrote this poem for Professor Paul Blaney’s creative writing course during the Fall semester of 2022. Blaney selected this poem for inclusion in WHR.