Does she have any idea of how radiant she is,
this lovely burst of color tiptoeing so
bold, yet mute, across my sedum?
Any idea of the awe she evokes as she
lifts her dainty antennae, all aquiver with
thankful glee for the lush pink fragrance she has found?
Any idea that I am snapping picture after
picture to capture something of her exquisite
presence on my front porch? None at all. So
blissfully un-self-conscious of her charm, she simply
sips the gift of nectar and opens up her
wings to let the sun fall warm across her brilliant
orange. More sips, and then at last she
softly folds her wings and turns, as if to say,
“enough gawking already; go live your own luminous life!”
Her life will be so short, perhaps a month, but in that
fleeting time, she will profoundly shine, so
fully present to her moment and her task, so
silently attentive to what she needs to do.
And watching her, I wonder—can we learn her simple ways,
live each our own small radiance, and
be so-all-a-quiver-present to the marvels all around?
from the slow lane 
My computer is in a touchy stage so I didn’t see the butterfly in the graphic. As I read, without the visual, my mind conjured up an image of a Hummingbird joyfully going from flower to flower, bloom to bloom sipping the nectar. When my computer finally refreshed itself I then saw the beautiful butterfly grazing the flowers. I have this fascination with Hummingbirds, a gleeful fascination and yes I was a little disappointed to see the butterfly. And then I realized how wonderful it was for me to
visualize the Hummingbird and then to see the beautiful butterfly. Life is full of many instances when you visualize one item, event, etc only to find out the real item, event,etc, was actually something else. I wonder how many others, as they read the prose, let their minds wander to images of perhaps a Hummingbird, a honey bee, or other nectar gathering creatures???? Excellent – as usual – thanks for sharing.
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I share your fascination with hummingbirds, and I’m intrigued by your experience of the poem. Wonderful how our minds can form images from words and carry us beyond the original experience of the author. Thanks for sharing this!
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I hope that in my lifetime I can shine luminously.
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Karen, You do shine!
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Your butterfly has visited my sedum garden also! She never seems to tire of my camera, holding that special pose just long enough for me to capture yet another perfect image. How wonderfully blessed we are to share the gifts and shine in His light.
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And to think these sedum plants all came from your garden on Long Island. They’ve traveled a long way–to upstate NY and the Carolinas! Yes, we are blessed!
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That is beautiful,Carol
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