Humans pick roses and give them as gifts,
as signs of love, humility and appreciation.

Sheep eat roses for their nutrients,
so they can survive.

Roses just huddle in their bushes
for all the world to prey on
and they don't have any defense,
other than their thorns.

Their small flimsy ineffective thorns,
that raise an intriguing question,

why do roses have thorns?

Is it for aesthetics?
So they are more pleasing to they eye?
More desirable?
What good does that do them
when they are plucked for that single reason?

Why do roses have thorns?
To ward off danger perhaps?
To punish those who mess with them?
To show off their strength to the world?
Why bother when sheep and goats
will eat them regardless?

Why do roses have thorns?
Are they a blanket that help sooth the pains of life?
Are they something to hold that cannot be taken?
Something to help empower the soul?
How will that help when they can do nothing
but cluster together and wait for fate to act?

Why do i have thorns?
Could it be that i need a facade? 
Something to distract people from my fragility?
A mask to hide behind
when the raven comes looking for me?
What's the point when no matter how hard i try,
misfortune always find me
and attacks my weakened spirit.

Why? Why do we have thorns?