[j.havenfarm]

In real life flowers, branches, roots, etc can “wither.” In real life “Backbones” can break or crack, but they don’t wither. When you put two word pictures together that if literally true can’t go together, that’s a mixed metaphor. It’s pretentious but lazy writing that should be picked up and corrected by any editor worth his salt

[Navy Patriot]

Actually, I was asking if that was what you posted.

I looks like an autocorrect foul up on your original post.