“…I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is  sun and air, or goodness and knowledge.”  MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather, P.18, c.1918

the waves of dried grass

drink in the cloudburst of rain

for far too long they have endured the heat of the sun’s rays

for far too long the blades reached out in a tall, stately stature

waiting on command for recognition of their need

when, at last, the rain drops quenched their thirst

giving them strength to go green again

and live in hope

it took patience and strength to wait

it took patience and strength not to allow itself burn in rage

it took patience and strength to open itself to possibilities

the grass did for itself what it could

extending its roots down into the soil and  drawing the droplets upward

the grass stood its ground

and did not leave for vacation

perhaps it was the solidarity of the blade formation that gave it strength

what gives nature the resilience to grow again and again?

“Clouds of Flight” Photo Credit: Jane H. Johann, near Palmyra, WI. Sept. 12, 2015

fireflies are whimsically dancing

over the purple clover fields

as the sun pulls its cover up over itself

to settle in for the night on the mountain shelves

“Delicate Growth–Alberta Wildflowers”
Photo Credit:
Jane H. Johann
August, 2014.Copyright
©Jane H. Johann