There was a woman that looked after the gardens

when I was a small girl.

Day after day, she tended sown seeds with love and compassion,

and stood back to see her efforts take.

Attentive,

patient,

protective,

Her guard is continuous and careful.

 

Time passed, and I observed as I grew,

and the day came that I took control of the plot.

She steps back, and I spring forth

driven by ideas of my own cultivation.

 

I solely wanted it to be good enough

so that others found bliss as they’d stop by through.

But nothing stays well maintained without effort;

no path stays clear and true.

Dodging unmanageability accepted in complacency

evolved to be all that I knew.

 

They could see my gardens had become overgrown,

my aspiration lost in piles of undernourished soil.

It rained for days at a time, and inundation shaded the gardens gray-blue.

Ground cover kept my feet from firmly planting on the earth.

The entangling vines choked the once bountiful growth,

and all hope

quickly

withered.

 

 

I found shelter from the raging storms

within the solace of the woman’s embrace.

She harbored no judgment for my faulted progression,

and promised me there is a day to start anew.

Despite hardship and strife of her own,

her love is kind and it is true.

 

When the weather is clear,

we emerged into the light, hand in hand.

She taught me to trim my unruly buds

to gain chance at new life, growth, and hope.

She taught me to nurture and stake what needs support,

to strengthen it with the light it yearns to thrive in.

She taught me to recognize the fruition in failure,

and to cherish all that grows to be.

 

For these and all her lessons,

I remain filled with flourishing gratitude.

The woman is my mother- my teacher and my friend.

 

When I lose hope of imparting good,

she takes my hand and together we wait out the rain.

We sow our seeds with love and compassion,

and we wait to see our efforts take.

We hold tight to the belief that beautiful things will grow,

within the gardens of our heads and hearts.