Life and Death

It's a matter of life and death:
the dead hydrangea head,
through which springs a new green bud.
Who is this stranger on last year's stem?
It's us. It's them.
Youth will arrive,
the strain will survive.
In the midst of death
we are alive.

poem © Celia Warren 2011

I'm finding this 'instant writing' extremely liberating. Admittedly, there's a danger that I'm going to post pap and regret it, putting at risk my reputation as one of Britain's foremost poets (I jest) but, hey! it's a fun challenge!