Then Became the Magnolia
by Kathleen Kelly Halverson, 3/31/2020
I walked by it,
inhaling its evolution,
for over a week,
day after day -- and each time,
it changed and called to me.
Impossible to ignore, it was.
And so
I slowed my pace and began to pay
attention, to watch the evolving birth of
this incredible being.
I watched as it began--
first with buds that were barely an appendage,
clinging to sweetest stem,
breathing and dripping with opposing
forces of hope, promise, innocence,
boldness, and intention. Forces that
merged and married in a way that almost
didn't make sense. It was intoxicating to
witness.
It's a being that starts small, with seed
and sapling. A newly planted spirit
whose nimble limbs move WITH the
wind, refusing to fight and showing the
world not a lick of fear or uncertainty but
rather intentionality and every bit of
beauty--limbs that bend without fear of
breaking and whose strength lies quietly
unnoticed but ever present, in rich soil
and deeply and lovingly planted roots
and whose form, soon enough, morphs
into something magnificent.
I continued my walks.
First, it boasted buds that were tightly
bound to stem, akin to a womb-enshrined infant
still soundly sleeping, firmly attached to a mother--a being with
humblest beginnings but one that would
soon have sweeping and strong life
stories in full technicolor,
and bold and beautiful endings.
As the days passed, the buds folded ever-so-slowly open,
more and more with each passing day--
giving the world a hint of the wonder that was to come
from this being.
And then.
Today, it happened.
The babies yawned and stretched
and opened and smiled at spring
and decided, "It's time."
And after that delicious sleep and after
saving their strength for this day of great reveal,
they finally unfolded completely.
Flaunted their fuschia hues
and not-so-why peeks of purple and white.
Unrolled and shook out all of their soft,
folded-over edges, translucent petals
showing their innocent faces
to the world for the very first time.
Yawning their now full-on blossoms up
to the sky, they were velvet-lined vessels
inviting the world to drink of their display,
to inhale their scent,
to bear witness to their beauty,
to watch their grand entrance.
And their proud mother?
What did SHE do?
Well.
She threw back her head with absolute
abandon, stretched, and smiled at the sky.
Opened her arms and welcomed spring.
And so, after a long week of making me wait . . .
Then became the magnolia.
3-31-2020
