In Bloom

Lavender roses.
Incarnate fragrance,
Priestly hue of dawn,
Spirit unfolding.

Even on the road to hell, flowers can make you smile. They are fragile, ephemeral, uncompromising. No one can alter their nature. True, you can easily destroy them, but you will not gain anything; you cannot force them to submit to your will. Flowers arouse in us an instinct to protect them, to appreciate them, and to shelter them. This world is too ugly, too violent. There should be something delicate to care about. To do so is to be lifted above the brute and to go toward the refined. When we offer flowers on our alter, we are offering a high gift. Money is too vulgar, food to pedestrian. Only flowers are unsullied. By offering them, we offer purity. The tenderness of flowers arouses mercy, compassion, and understanding. If that beauty is delicate, so much the better. Life itself is fleeting. We should take the time to appreciate beauty in the midst of temporality. (Ming - Dao)

One day as I walked, having just escaped a storm,
I came upon a flower beautiful and white. It grew
from amongst the rocks where nothing soft and
bright should grow. But there it was, smiling at me.
The sun glistened off the rain drops that clung to
its pedals and they almost seemed to dance in
victory. I took a picture with my mind, to carry
with me always. Here's to a flower. (Me)