My daughters each go their own way today in search of waterfalls with friends. It’s a perfect day for waterfalls, the temperature hot, the air drenched with sultriness. I remain behind in my garden’s dirt, moving Jonny Jump-Ups and sowing seeds. The world is alive around me with pollinators and earthworms and the chorus of nesting songbirds. It’s lilac season, here just for a few moments. I remind myself to breathe in, breathe in, while this sweet season lasts.
There are days we live
as if death were nowhere
in the background; from joy
to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
from blossom to blossom to
impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.
~ Li-Young Lee, “From Blossoms”
Stony Soil Vermont 
Love the poem, so perfect for right now.
Brett, this is a lovely meditation on being present. We are fortunate to have three huge stands of lilacs- two lavender & one white…the smells wafting are intoxicating. Thanks for including the quote from “From Blossoms”; it felt familiar. When I looked up the entire poem, I realized I had discovered it years go and it resonated enough to make it into my journal book of quotes & poems. So you re-introduced me to an old friend:)
Thank you for sharing this! And I’m glad to hear you’re loving the lilac season, too!
A lovely poem of hope. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading!