Sitting here at my desk

Looking out at the back yard

So recently mowed

A lush green canvas

Against which the trees stand

Still and serene

The birds twittering in a language

I do not understand

I looked up the word “beauty” today

And was surprised at how challenging it was to define

“A combination of qualities…that pleases the senses.”

Few would dispute the beauty of the curve of a baby’s smile

The perfection of a sunset or a rose

But I have seen beauty too in the creases of an old woman’s face

In light gleaming off a muddy bank

In the timely prayer of a friend

Or a tight hug on a hard day

It isn’t I think

That “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

So much as it is too hard for a finite mind to define

Something we all sense

Like an ache in our spirit

A longing for something unseen

And for the briefest of moments

Beauty reminds us

Of the eternal

The lasting

The good

Flowers on my desk in a mason jar

Delicate unfolding

Pale pinks and rich yellows

Contrasting purple and bright pink

 

A spray of baby’s breath

Folded in amongst vibrant green

Sunlight shimmers off water and glass

Beautiful

Yet dying even now

For beauty on this earth

Never lasts

I think that is part of what makes it beautiful

Take it in while you can

With trembling breath

Because it will not be here forever

It is just the whisper

Of a song we have forgotten

How to sing