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Cut roses almost never start as seeds,

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each begins as a rooted cutting sitting
in a tray among identical others

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Its whole life runs against a clock, and

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every step from here exists
to buy it a few more days

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Growers meter every drop of water and

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every hour of light, because the
crop is steered, not left to grow

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A rose is cut while still a bud, because a

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flower harvested closed travels
well and opens later at home

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Cutting happens in the cooler hours of the

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day, because heat is what the
flower races against from the start

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Within hours the stems are moved into a

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cold room, where the field heat is
pulled out before anything travels

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It is kept close to freezing for most of

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the journey, because each warmer
step costs it days of life

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Truck, auction hall and shop pass it

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along, and each handover is where
the cold chain holds or breaks

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At the florist its lower leaves come off

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and the stem is recut, so
it can drink freely again

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Past the shop door the chain ends, and

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what is left of its life
belongs to a stranger's water

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All of it was meant to be forgotten, so

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for one week this could
be a flower on a table

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Behind countless windows there may be

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another stem that travelled the same
way, and this was the one you followed