Sidewalk Flowers

Somehow,
flowers bloom in the most unlikely places,
in the wrong seasons,
amidst neglect and abuse,
somehow
they still live.

I do not pretend
to understand.
It defies logic,
defies sense, and yet
there is no denying the dandelion
that grows in the sidewalks’ crack,
or the rose
that climbs out of neglect
to bloom ruby red,
the color of love,
when by all rights it should be choked out
from the angry underbrush all around it.

I could ponder,
but the life of flowers is far too short,
and so you breathe deeply
the unexpected perfume,
giddy with joy,
with the evidence of grace
all around you.

About this poem

God is profligate in his distribution of joys, and they show up in unexpected ways, unexpected places, and unexpected times in our lives.

Cue happy dance.

Tom