Monday, April 18, 2011

Forsythia

Sometimes I wonder what I have been missing all along.  When something comes into view for the first time, something as simple as forsythia amidst the honeysuckle bushes, I wonder how I missed it in the first place.  Of course if we don*t see something, if we haven*t noticed in the first place, will we miss it?  It*s the whole observer/observed, tree falls in the forest thing.   

It is Holy Week.  I am doing what I can to notice what I can.  I will attend the clergy Quiet Day tomorrow at the Morton Arboretum.  Sometimes when I can be in the midst of silence, I not only hear more, but I see more as well. 

I knew we had honeysuckle in the back.
It wasn*t until this week
I noticed the forsythia,
one yellow patch in the midst
of the honeysuckle.
How could I miss it all these years,
Looking past the forsythia
Looking through the forsythia,
To watch the ducks?
It seems this year I get to watch the ducks
Framed in forsythia, lemon yellow.
The ducks have probably always been framed
In a bit of forsythia
At this time of year.
I didn*t notice
Until now.
It continues interesting
What gets pieced into the picture,
What is never painted in.
So much it seems
That is never painted in.
I feel the philosopher.
It stands to reason
So Much
Has never been painted in.

1 comment:

  1. Nice repetition of the theme "painted in". It's funny, isn't it, how we can be totally oblivious to the things that should be so obvious. This is true both of the senses and the soul. I particularly liked this part:

    "How could I miss it all these years,
    Looking past the forsythia
    Looking through the forsythia,
    To watch the ducks?"

    The way you emphasize the point there through repetition - love it.

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