| The gardener looked upon his flowers as they blossomed after the rain. He scanned his field of labor and reckoned it worth the pain. He hadn't been too happy, his heart had not been well, It seemed he must be tossing bad pennies down his well. The winds of life had blown him, the storms had beat his crop. The life he loved was all but gone it seemed that nothing could quite stop. This villain he had battled, it seemed that it would win, But now he gazed upon his flowers and thought of what they'd been. Now tattered, torn, and all but lost In the ashes of disaster, it seemed too high a cost. But somehow some had made it, somehow they still grew, As rising fragrant banners to the life the gardener knew. They beckoned, "Come and tend us lest we wither up and die, Like those that came before us, for we can hear their fateful cry. Prune and purge our dwelling that we may then take root And bare thee seeds of happiness as we blossom forth our fruit. Come and give us water that we may never thirst. Give us love and kindness and our colors we shall burst. In the day we shall open the gift we are to bare, And for the eye's awaiting, our glory we shall share. And as the night descends, our beauty will not fade But transform us to another as we ply our flower trade." The gardener heard their pleading and though his heart was sore, Picked up the tools he had mastered and used them as before. He turned the earth and sowed some seed and sheltered them from harm. He watched them as they slept at night and worked his garden charm. By the setting of the sun the villain was not found, You could not tell he'd visited or ever made a sound. Everything was better now the gardener's heart was made a knew, As he looked upon his flowers and watched them as they grew. Now the lesson here is simple: Though life my take a fall, Work with what you have and your reward will not be small. Though winds may reek their havoc and storms may soon assail, Rejoice for the future and reason not to fail. |
| THE GARDENER AND HIS FLOWERS |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
| by Clint Nobles |