Coreopsis lanceolata – a wildflower…

Every spring I wait. I stand at my kitchen door watching just in case. Leaning with cup in hand. Watching. Waiting.

The coreopsis tease me…lush green leaves. Multitudes. Growing bigger. But no flowers yet. Not even tight buds ready to burst with colour overnight, so that in the morning I will see and hear them calling.

 ‘Come look…we’ve made it’.

Like migrating birds, they land…not just one but many. One after the other. They push through tight green covers to reach for the sun. Yellow, yellow…I remember from last year.

But for now, I wait.

The tension mounts…no buds…leaves…no buds.

Where are they ? Through what skies are they passing; what realms? They collect on their way, a magic. Bringing to me their fun and playfulness.

Oh yes, I’ve seen them play with the wind; they laugh and taunt each other. Some follow, some chase and when caught in each other’s grasp they bend. With elated exhaustion like tumbling cubs they surrender and let go. To begin again. At night they are still and look to the skies from where they came. From where we all come?

They talk to the stars and suck their life spirit from the waxing moon. They call forth to those yet to come, maybe this spring and if not, the next. Their life is brief, and when spent they stand stiff like sentinels waiting for their end. They know it will come but they leave proudly, and behind them a legacy…a capsule full of memories laid down somewhere on the earth. A message for the future, full of birth, and life, and kindness.

They are kind to those that need them. To those that gather pollen, which is offered in abundance. And with their bodies bright they offer themselves to those who need a place to rest and begin new lives.

And to me. I am invited into their life because they know we need connections. I watch and envelop myself in their life. Wrapped in their simplicity and their struggle. For surely it is a struggle to fulfil life’s purpose. I am in awe of their journey and offer them food and water. Will they still come when I am gone? Yes, but maybe not as many and maybe not as vibrant. For it is in our uniting that they shine.

But for now I linger…excitement mounting….I think I see yellow… but wait, is it a trick…?