the back burner

cold hydrangea

The hydrangeas were indeed brittle.
And how can one blame them?
The frost had sucked their sap
from ovary and leaf deep down to roots.
Stems, therefore, stems
snapped and broke despite my care.
Apologies for careless rake!
Sorry for my feet which break
your limbs, and for my blood
which pumps more warmly
than your own!
But how can one apologize
to a hydrangea?
They snapped, I raked.
Their shattered visages testified
to my clumsy vandalism,
and me, me wondering how come.