There is no way of telling what the final count of petals will be.
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This really is the garden where it all began, where a life could be counted in petals. A big part of my childhood remains here in a magical garden as the petals have floated off on the wind.
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I come back when nineteen thousand camellia petals have already fallen one at a time. I yearn to gather them up off the ground and turn back the clock. Where did all the petals go? How did a magical garden turn to this?
But I can't. The petals have fallen.
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One by one the petals fall for each of us. The time will come to leave the garden.
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I must savor the beauty of each petal before it falls.
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And be thankful that one garden filled with ancient trees and many camellias has served so many lives so well, with too many petals to count.
6 comments:
Nothing like a trip down memory lane.
Just recently, I was feeling like you. I found this poem:
“Backward, turn backward,
O Time, in your flight
make me a child again
just for to-night!”
A beautiful post.
I remember, in a post many moons ago, images from this garden. It looked mysterious, like one could hide in it - and how can anything go wrong, when one is surrounded by camellias?
Curiously, the place I'm renting in the DC area has two old camellias in it - japonicas. Not the more recent 'cold hardy' introductions - these are rather old plants (30-40 years old maybe?). One is looking as if it might open up soon, and it is red - the other I can't tell yet what the colors will be. But as I sit in DC, homesick for my camellia-filled garden in South Carolina - it is certainly comforting to have these two old camellias around me.
It's been awhile since I've stopped by - I hate when life gets so busy that one isn't sure they are breathing quite enough... I hope you enjoyed your warm shower, or will soon - and I hope that your Thanksgiving was a good one.
I trust your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as you. You are a treasure to your family or anyone that comes to know you.
Going down memory lane, tears in eyes, sadness & happiness. Wouldn't it be great if we could go there for just one day.
Take care my friend.
Hi Christopher! I'm just catching up on a bunch of your posts. This one was really special! I hope you had a wonderful day with your family/friends giving thanks for all we have and all we have had. I hope the water heater installation goes well. You might consider sticking around until mid week in Florida. There is forecast of snow late Monday/Tuesday.
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