You see,

it used to be,

this pretty, pretty green.

It was like

a lively moss tint

with these pink stripes

along the edges.

Then I noticed

the tips of my leaves

turning a light burnt shade

like the chocolate fondue fountain

I used to sit next to,

watching kids dip berries

into the rich raw umber,

seeing it seep around a strawberry

and drip on the fingertips and down the wrist

of a child whisked away by her parent.

because while the child dipped

the leaves of a berry in chocolate,

you dipped mine in dehydration.

I thought we would last forever,

this houseplant and I.

Yet here she sits

in a vase too big,

roots too stiff.

I think I’ll miss those little stripes lining her leaves.

But I suppose I could just go

to Home Depot.