Stubbornly

Pass by the showy rose,

blabbing open,

suckling a shiny beetle;

pass by the changeless diamond

that falls asleep in shadow—

this love is a lichen,

alga and fungus made one fleck,

feeding on what it feeds,

growing slightly faster than stone

into a patch of gray lace,

a double thumbprint,

its bloom distinguishable, with practice,

from its dormant phase,

crocheting its singular habit

over time, a faithful stain

bound to its home,

etching on the unmoved rock

the only rune it knows.