Poinsettia and a last white rose

My potted Christmas poinsettia lives on, but today I threw out the last creamy rose from a bouquet I received from my students in early December. This flower was on the kitchen window sill in a tall black bottle, along with a bit of the baby's breath from the original bouquet.

Granted, it was sere and a bit wrinkled. It seemed to have simply dried up, rather than losing all its petals, as roses usually do. In fact, roses tend to fade very quickly once they're cut.

For some reason, these were very long-lasting. When I had to throw out most of them, I made the pleasure and memory last longer by keeping some in a smaller vases. After I pulled off a few outer petals and trimmed the stems, these final roses still looked like new.

After seeing one another almost daily for nearly four months, the students who gave me those roses have now dispersed. Their gift of flowers left pleasant memories of the time we spent together.