HEART~SONG

 

“She asked me to plant for her a garden

full of beauty and delight,

to bring her joy when the sun doth shine

and comfort in moons light.…” –Anonymous

Feeling empty and

lost in the world

I kneel and begin to work.

I pray to the deities of

Air and Water,

Earth and Sky.

I open my heart and invite the

muses of Creativity and Love

to flow through my body

and into my hands.

I fold questions into the soil;

questions we ask of ourselves,

of each other,

and perhaps of the world,

and work them into the earth

with all the faith

and hope of any prayer

one might send skyward;

…then wait…

wait for the answers to come,

how ever they may choose to come.

1.

As I begin to

shape and turn,

sculpt and form,

this small patch of earth,

I suddenly begin to realize

I am creating,

composing and orchestrating,

setting a stage, laying a canvas.

As each plant feels home in the sun,

they settle root,

rise up,

and in their own time begin to bloom,

wildly and softly.

These blooms take voices,

and the voices are what we might imagine

to be like those of the Angels,

soft and beautiful, strong and kind.

Within these pure, sweet, enchanted voices

is music…

and they begin to speak to us,

to tell us their stories and sing us their songs.

…And we begin to learn to listen...

The Roses speak to us of passion,

the Rosemary of remembrance.

The Lilies sing of pure and unconditional love,

and the Jasmine does a delightful soliloquy

about the virtues of blooming where one is planted.

The Daisies hum softly to themselves

a song of innocence.

The Elephant Ears inform us that

if we believe very hard at all times

that absolutely nothing is impossible,

and the Hibiscus believes in the simple rule

of “show don’t tell.”

2.

The Moonflower assures us

that we are never alone …even in great darkness.

The fragrant Gardenias whisper to us

of spirits who are always among us,

even if we cannot see them,

and the Sunflower merely flings out

his great joy against the sky.

The Thyme could talk to us all day long about patience,

and Queen of the Meadow explains everything

we need to know about strength and perseverance,

while the Bougainvillea just plain shows off.

But the Ornamental Grasses never boast or brag,

they are simply there,

quiet and steadfast as any soldier standing guard.

The Echinacea sing of healing,

the Lavender of beauty,

the Bee Balm of forgiveness.

The June bells do a joyful dance to life,

and the Japanese Iris have a serious

discussion about trust,

while the Black Eyed Susan in the corner

just winks and nods.

At the very end of summer

when the Sage finally blooms

she lectures breathlessly about how we should never,

never give up,

and the Purple Heart gently reminds us

that there are no endings in our gardens,

only new beginnings.

3.

They call forth the Bees,

who come to them

with purpose and delight,

and the Butterflies,

who dance their beautiful and joyous ballet.

The song Birds come,

perhaps to just sit and listen,

and the Hummingbirds who flirt and play.

The Fairies here,

full of magic and mischief,

are shy at first

and from behind the willow

they giggle and tease,

and when they can no longer contain themselves,

they join in on the chorus with the Lilies

in a happy, high, sweet soprano.

And within this glorious summer symphony

the one thing they all agree upon

in the most perfect of harmonies is,

that Music is a gift of the spirit,

and the music we have within ourselves is enough,

If we can only learn to listen.

And she,in all her grace and beauty and wisdom,

listens to them all…

to each story and every song.

She smiles…

and she knows,

and I think perhaps she has always known,

that sometimes, as we grow and journey toward healing,

the most beautiful music of all

comes from hearts

that hurt the most.

....~Rema