A Gardener’s Optical Illusion

 

A trick of morning light,

a slant of glass in a windowpane,

and I see a bevy of black-eyed Susans

where there are none.

The real golden, black-eyed blooms

bob on long stems to the south of my back door.

Their reflection sprawls across

the window-framed view to the west,

which happens to be the neighbor’s garage

and has never sprouted flowers.

Yet there it is

from my vantage point indoors,

an optical illusion,

a mirage,

a golden, pop-up garden,

a gift of sun and glass.

I wonder if a good memory is like that,

a reality, once tangible,

reflecting now from a window of the soul

so that, for a moment,

the mind’s eye sees a golden scene,

hears it,

smells it,

tastes it,

feels it

and knows it as a gift,

knows that this reflection is

no trick,

no mirage,

but is imprinted forever

on the pane of the heart.

-kh-

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week—my golden garden and its reflection:

Shadow of the week:

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Text and photos © 2024 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

When Dawn Raised Her Window Shade

 

This morning,

dawn quietly raised her window shade, releasing

a stream of gold that flowed

across reaching roofs and leaf-strewn lawns.

The brilliant stream wandered west,

a glowing, growing, widening river

warmly hugging the autumn garden.

Orange peppers blushed red,

purple pansies nodded,

black-eyed Susans brightened.

The river of sun dappled fallen pinecones,

speckled spent coneflowers,

splashed up tree trunks to spotlight the elms

and burnish yellowing poplar leaves.

I saw this golden gift of dawn

this morning

when she raised her window shade

and I raised mine.

-kh-

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Garden Gossips

 

Four black-eyed Susans,

crones of the planter box,

have lost their golden petals.

Their dark brown seed heads

sit atop tall stalks,

surveying shorter blooms—

pink coneflowers,

sun bright coreopsis,

fluttery white windflowers.

The black-eyes lean toward each other

nodding in the breeze,

garden gossips

sharing the season’s secrets.

Shhh! Shhh!

Peace.

– kh –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Season’s Secrets

 

Four dark brown seed heads,

centers of black-eyed Susans,

crones of the planter box,

golden petals long gone,

still sit atop tall stalks

surveying shorter blooms—

pink coneflowers,

sun bright coreopsis,

fluttery white windflowers.

The black-eyes lean toward each other

nodding in the breeze,

garden gossips

sharing the season’s secrets.

Shhh! Shhh!

Peace.

-kh

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week—a profile made by books and papers on an end table:

 

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Splashes of Golden Joy

My black-eyed Susans are picturesque flowers. Tall stems curve them left or right so that they come to pose in front of a background of white windflowers or rest among the magenta and yellow lantana or sway before the creeping Jenny. Three of them stand in a thin blue bud vase that my son and his family gave me. I think if they could, they would take selfies—see us posed here for you, a still life in real life, they would say. Yes, I see you. I see your splashes of golden joy.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

 

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.