Cherry-dark mums are just the color of all my heart. The self-inflicted worries and disappointments; the sweet throbs that race ahead of thinking and good sense – all as deeply held in their shadows as they are brightly curving in the light.

I wanted the flowers’ darkness to remain intact, the most important thing to know about them. One petal after another, each a strand in a story that can’t be told with only soft tints that let the light shine through.