A Bud of Hope

At the base of each drying leaf

Is a bud full of life and potential

Waiting patiently for summer’s heat

Or winter’s cold to pass

Knowing Spring will bring renewal

*****

Remember…

Behind all that crushes you

Makes you feel devastated

Hopeless and distraught

Lies a bud of strength and potential

The creator’s promised hope

Waiting for you to recognize

That your spring has arrived

Once more

Photo: Dwighr L. Roth

Grow Where You are Planted

Maple seeds fly

with the advent of Spring.

Miniature helicopters,

blades spinning in the wind.

Caught

carried

like a kite on the breeze;

Only to float to the ground…

the roof… the gutter… or rain barrel

destination unknown…

deposited for growth.

New life begins

Today at d’Verse, Merril gave us seed as our Quadrille (exactly 44 words) Prompt. Every spring the maple trees are the first to open. Their seeds drop in abundance and land everywhere. We called them helicopters, when I was young, and threw them back up in the air to watch them spin around to the ground. Nature has so many ways to keep the growth cycle going. Just about anywhere they land they will put down a root and try to grow. A good example for all of us!

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Waiting to Come Out

Bluebird clutch waiting

New life grows inside blue shells

Nature’s poetry

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Nature’s Breakdown

Nature recycles

Changing matter never stops

Just like you and me

Even solid rock

crumbles… flakes away in time

Just like you and me

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Beauty in the Aging

Today a lone monarch visited my flowers, sucking out the last drops of nectar. I was excited to see it, since I didn’t see any all summer. The Yellow and Black Swallowtails were here, but no Monarchs. I got my camera and snapped away, as it enjoyed what is left of my Zinnias.

Summer has finally come to an end, and a lot of my flowers grew fungus and mildew on their leaves. The leaves deteriorated and dried up starting at the bottom and going up. But, with a couple of late summer rains, and a little watering from my rain barrels, my Zinnias continue to grow. I also have been cutting off seed heads as the flowers petals fall off. This stimulates them to keep putting out new buds. Although the bottom half of the stem looks dead the top continues to bloom. Some have now reached a height of almost eight feet! I see beauty in the flowers and also in the drying stems and leaves. It reminded me of the stages of life we all go through and that beauty can always be found even as we age and come to the end of life.

In the Fall of Life

beauty is found in aging

Blooms shine above pain

Photos taken today – Dwight L. Roth

Bottom Leaf

In an everchanging world, I find myself struggling with the way in which things are moving! Life goes on whether I want to come along or not. As I watch the struggles of social groups and see the injustice that has long plagued our country’s history, I wonder where we are headed.  History like politics has very dark times. We can embrace it, be offended by it,  or attempt to deny it, but it will always be there.  As the next generation comes on, I hope they learn from history instead of repeating it.  I pray that we can all learn to live with each other, allowing for our differences in values and beliefs without feeling like we need to impose ours upon everyone around us. Uniqueness has always been our strength!

Sometimes I feel like the bottom leaf of a plant

Birthed from seed // providing sustenance for a time;

Now eclipsed by more recent growth rising above…

Providing new solar sources to feed from…

 

Obsolete // no longer making that much difference.

Never meant to shine or blossom // I’ve done my job…

Supporting // nurturing new growth and change;

 

Yet, now that life has grown beyond me,

I am here // drying up at the bottom of the stalk

while growth and reproduction of values and thought

happens above me // in a world very different from mine.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Lone Crocus

Touches of spring come up out of the ground, reminding us not to despair. Warm weather is just around the corner. I saw this lone crocus shining in the pine-bark mulch along my sidewalk. The tiny green sprigs accenting the egg-yoke colored blossom is a joy to see. The daffodils are already starting to bloom as warm southerly breezes  continue through this week here in North Carolina.

Sunshine pushes through

Defying winter’s cold chill

Letting the chips fall

*****

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Reminders of Spring

The warm days over Christmas have given the flower bulbs a jump start. I saw these daffodils pushing through the ground in my flower beds. It was a pleasant reminder that winter will not last long and spring is on the way.

While we celebrated with family and friends

Daffodils remind us the seasons never end

New growth has started generating new flowers

Pushing through the ground with warm sun and showers

Many cold winter days still to come

Plants will shiver as they wait for more sun

So… if January days give you the blues

Remember that spring will be here on queue

iPhone Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Laid to Rest

Leaves are laid to rest;

Blanketing the ground around the stones

of those already laid to rest.

Golden brown they fall

scattering in the wind // drifting gently;

A covering for those who have already

passed the winter of their life…

and those who left much too soon.

Soon the oak will be bare of leaves

its branches reaching up toward the blue sky.

Standing tall and stately over the cemetery

it knows when Spring comes

new life

will be drawn from its roots.

And, when this winter is past

it will put out new leaves

that will, once again, shade those

 who have already been laid to rest.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

I am also posting this for d’Verse Poets Pub open link night.

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Nature Returns

Last fall the gas company cleared the right away behind our property. I was sad to see the trees go and the topsoil removed. They buried a twelve inch natural gas line and then covered it over with the original top soil. A couple of months ago they planted grass over the whole thing. The attempted to leave the natural wet areas unchanged, leveling and covering it with mesh netting to protect it.  The grass grew and the natural growth came up through the mesh. Today I found wild flowers once again blooming. Nature’s resilience is amazing.

Whatever we do

Progress scarring the landscape

Nature blooms through mesh

Photos: Dwight L. Roth