A Flower for a Lady

I trotted down the sunny sidewalk after my balcony warm-up, determined to put on a real show for the neighborhood ladies! Parked right along the stone pathway was an old wooden flower vendor's cart, and dangling low from a wicker bucket was a single, dazzling red carnation. A true stage romantic never meets the public empty-handed! I leaped up onto the cart's iron wheel spoke, reached out with both gloves, and pulled the stem free. The weight swung down fast and knocked my straw hat askew, but I recovered with a lightning spin, planted my flat heels on the curb, and balanced the bright red blossom under my arm like the most debonair bouquet in town!