My Palindrome

So, I figured it was only fair that I try my own exercise. Here's what I got -- still pretty rough, but I like where it's headed.


The Flowerless Branch

Each year a new spear
knifes up from the chips of bark,
rises, swells, sprouts delicate leaf pairs,
but still, no orchid flower.
We fertilize, water; don’t fertilize,
don’t water; move the pot
from dim hallway to bright living room —
and still: flowerless. Like us
living without a child? Two men,
barren as a cuckoo and a mule.
Barren as a cuckoo and a mule
living without a child. Two men.
And still, flowerless, like us
from dim hallway to bright living room —
don’t water; move the pot
we fertilize, water; don’t fertilize.
But still no orchid flower
rises, swells, sprouts delicate leaf pairs,
knifes up from the chips of bark.
Each year a new spear.