The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read,
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life, with good reason to frown,
It seemed that the world was intent on dragging me down.
As if that weren’t enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down,
And said with excitement, “look what I found!”
In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight.
With its petals all worn, not enough rain or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off and play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.
But instead of retreating, he sat next to my side,
And placed the flower to his nose,
and declared with overacted surprise,
“It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful too”
“Thats why I picked it, here it’s for you”
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colours, orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave,
So I reached for the flower, and replied, “just what I need”.
But instead of placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
The weed toting boy could not see, he was blind.
I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun,
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
“You’re welcome” he smiled, then ran off to play
Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.
I sat there and wondered how he managed to see,
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.
Through the eyes of a child, at last I could see
The problem was not the world, the problem was me.
For all of those times I myself have been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
and appreciate every second thats mine,
And I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful ROSE.
And I smiled as I watched that young boy,
another weed in his hand
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.
Munni, I am sorry for the feelings you must be feeling right now. Sometimes when we go through pain, sadness and disappointment of situations in life, we fail to realize that God must have a much better plan in store for us.
You seem to me to be a genuine sweet young woman, and I truly believe He has great things in store for you.
Keep your head up girl, and keep reaching for the stars!