Spring Flowers

“For me?” asks the stranger.

       “Why, thank you. They’re lovely,” exclaims another.

       “You shouldn’t have,” kids the next.

       Walking down the street with a bunch of fresh cut flowers in hand never fails to elicit ebullient comment from random passersby, always exclusively female, pretending to be the recipient and engaging in a play-act that sometimes even includes a half-hearted gesture as if to take the floral arrangement from my hand.

       Little do they imagine the true purpose of this mixed bouquet.

       Continuing along my way, I note that the men who pass make no remark whatsoever.

       How does our culture imbue women to play this role?

       Something to consider during this Women’s History Month.