in praise of choosing to bloom

Good Morning,

The world is so beautiful, even in its aching and smoldering there is so much to be in awe of, especially as we start to realize that everything is alive, that everything choses to be beautiful for the sake of beauty, despite all the hardship. That’s what this week’s poem is about and is also what more and more of my writing touches on these days.

In this vein, I am teaching a class through Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop in July where we will wander around a lake in Denver and write into this beauty, this awe, this living world. I’d love it if you’d join me. Here’s the link for that.

Now, onto the poem.

I tell my therapist about planting marigold seeds
in my backyard garden
how while putting them in the ground
I was thinking about my path
about my want to belong
and I began to wonder
if the seeds too, worry about their purpose
if they also strive to be seen
as beautiful by other flowers
or perhaps by the bees
my therapists says
that this is a nice image
but to remember that I am different than a flower
that it is ok to want to belong, to be beautiful
but that I have a will
while a flower does not
and I understand
that she is trying to help me focus on my own experience
instead of projecting it out
but I can’t help but wonder
what if a flower chooses to bloom
what if there is a will
wound up there within each seed
what if every blossom we see is a choice
a leaning in towards beauty
instead of an acceptance
of all that could wither
I like to think that the flower
is blooming on purpose
for if it does
perhaps so can I

Thank you,

Alexander

Beyond the paywall this week, a discussion of praise poetry and a prompt about writing towards that which we are called to praise.