JUST ONCE

An agave is a stocky unit of thick leaves.
Tooling along for years, 5 - 40, in its agaveness.
But then,

The flowering stalk emerges.
Shooting skyward at an obscene rate of speed.
Growing as much as a foot a day.
Total stalk height can be 20 ft.

Such pride the agave must feel.
But, after it's over.
It's straight to Agave Heaven.