Flowers and a Poem

I woke today feeling very sad, probably because the last thing I saw last night before I went to bed was the late night news. So much suffering and persecution going on around the world, the latest images in Burma of the monks being murdered, the war in Iraq, the ongoing troubles in Palestine, Zambabwe...the horror of it all is overwhelming and relentless. A little closer to home is my Mum's close friend who has MS and is now dying. She has been in the rest home for the same length of time as my Mum and they have such a lot in common. My Mum is going to miss her so much, especially her smile shining through all the pain.
I spent some time in my garden, listening to the birds and immersing myself in the colours and scents around me. That helped to calm me down a little.
A first rose showing it's face and fragrance for me, and the bees.
I had completely forgotten about this little plant's existence. During the winter it is a low green ground cover and then come Spring this flower pops through.
Some lavender for the bees

Then some flowers for inside the house

This is a poem that I enjoyed today by Holly Hughes

Mind Wanting More

Only a beige slat of sun

above the horizon, like a shade pulled
not quite down.Otherwise,

clouds. Sea rippled here and

there. Birds reluctant to fly.

The mind wants a shaft of sun to

stir the grey porridge of clouds,

an osprey to stitch the sea to sky

with it's barred wings, some dramatic

music: a symphony, perhaps

a Chinese gong.

But the mind always

wants more than it has -

one more bright day of sun,

one more clear night in bed

with the moon; one more hour

to get the words right; one

more chance for the heart in hiding

to emerge from its thicket

in dried grasses-as if this quiet day

with its tentative light weren't enough,

as if joy weren't all strewn around.

I found this poem in a book titled Dancing with Joy. A compilation of poems edited by Roger Housden. It is a library book but I think I shall buy a copy, there are so many poems that I know I will want to read over and over again.

Then because this is a crafty blog, here are a few flowers I added to a different garden today: