Saturday, March 12, 2011

Seed time

Everywhere, nature is shedding.
Flax plants stand up proudly along the coast. Their pods are cracking open, and raining black seeds on to the ground beneath.
I gather them, and make a basket shape from the leaves, wanting to contain and hold what is flying away.

The earth, which I've always thought of as stable and benevolent, has shaken violently: first in Christchurch and now Japan. The destruction from the recent earthquake and tsunami is overwhelming. I want to believe in the life force of seeds, to believe that all is well in nature, that the cycle of death-growth-birth will continue. I think of new flax plants sprouting up from these shiny black seeds, with  flame-like red and yellow flowers licking the sky once more, and the leaves offering themselves to be woven into baskets to hold fruits, vegetables, and hope.

1 comment:

Marilyn & Jeff said...

This is a beautiful post Juliet. Mother Nature can be so very destructive but also shows us that life will carry on through the seeds of this autumn.
I too have been following the life cycle of the flax from the first flowers in spring until the seeds of autumn. The flax shows us the beauty of Nature and all she gives.