Bulbs, by Patience Strong, is not only a wonderful poem to read in the spring, but also throughout the year as we celebrate the coming of natural life. This is a poem that warms the heart on cold winter days knowing
that we can all look forward to a time of warmer temperatures, and the beauty of
glorious grow of plants around us.
Patience Strong has captured the mystery of bulbs in these verses but also points out who makes them grow! This
is a great poem to share with your gardener friends no matter where they live.
I've put my bulbs in coloured bowls and hidden them away -
Inside my cupboard, where they cannot see the light of day -
I've put them in the soft black mould as cosy as can be -
And in the quiet darkness they will work their mystery . . .
And when all things lie lifeless locked in winter's frozen sleep -
Inside my cupboard one sweet day a pale green tip will peep.
I'll bring them out into the light and set them in my room -
And silently and secretly they'll grow and bud and bloom -
The grey old house will waken from its drowsy slumbering,
To find the rooms ablaze with flowers, as if it were the Spring! . . .
With daffodils and hyacinths, narcissi, tulips too -
A flaring mass of loveliness in gold and pink and blue -
And I shall smile, remembering my small part in the show -
For though we plant and tend the bulbs -
it's God that makes them grow.
"I've put my bulbs in coloured bowls and hidden them away and in the quiet darkness they will work their mystery . . ."
Patience Strong
It is amazing how nestled bulbs, put in a darkened place, will begin their natural processes of renewing growth for eventual planting in the spring. It is
not so different than some of us who sprout into fullness after a period of darkness in our lives. You see, it isn't that we will shrivel and die amidst the
cold of defeat unless it is true that we have lost our quest for renewed vigor. So often, many people accept that the darkness of failure must be the
continued state of affairs. To these type of people, there is no foresight of what can be if only they use these defeats as the fresh beginnings on new
life, of new dreams, and of new accomplishments.
The point is this, as likened to bulbs placed in darkness to be ready for new life in the spring, a
period of setback, defeat or obstacles encountered do not have to be the end of what we had hoped for. It, instead, should be viewed as lessons
learned so that future endeavors do not succumb to the same mistakes. For all things lost are things ready to give birth again when the mind and heart
champion loss as gain to be hurled once again into the future.
"And I shall smile, remembering my small part in the show for though we plant and tend the bulbs - it's God that makes them grow."
A smile upon out lips is the beginning throws of the pleasant day ahead. For it is not that we do not have a choice of how our day will be lived. It is
everyone's choice of whether to brand the day in gloom or one of delight. Each one of us plays a role for-destined from the beginning of time when
God created us more for good than sorrow. We may only take some small part in the grand plan of God, and that small part is listening to the call of
God in obedience to His will.
The heavens celebrate a heart of servitude no matter how small the task may seem; every task given by God for His
glory is a task well received by God as part of His will for us. Each person has an opportunity to hear God's voice; it is up to you whether you will play
your part and allow God to grow you to what has been destined before the beginning of time. Play your part regardless of how minute you may think it is - there awaits you the grandest of all to come, eternal life.
