Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Magnolia Lighting the Day


Nights in the village are cool; morning skies are gray and overcast. The forecast for the next few days is for lower temperatures, clouds from here to there and rain. The word for this week ought to be "puddle".

Not a leaf to be seen on her fretwork of arching branches, the magnolia tree around the corner ignores the gloom (both weather and COVID related) and is unfurling a cloud of tulip-shaped blooms. In years past, she gifted her subtle colors and delicate fragrance to commuters running for buses, to children in rainbow boots and slickers wending their way to school and postmen stuffing mailboxes, to rumbling trucks sweeping village streets clean of dust. This morning she offers her grace and silent benediction to one old hen and her canine companion out for an early walk.

By the end of today, the tulip tree will probably be bare, her petals set free by the wind and floating down to carpet the garden like confetti.  This morning, she is a candle, a veritable tree full of candles lighting the murky day.

2 comments:

Victoria Londergan said...

Your words break my heart wider open🙏🏻💜⚓️🧚from a grateful, awakened old hen 🥰

littlemancat said...

Beautiful - the blessing of the flowers.

Mary