April 23
.
May 23
.
June 23
.
Waiting
He could have said
Let there be life
As in the beginning
But He made me wait.
For three months
I went back to the same spot
and watched
slowly
green bursting out from bare branches
fighting storms and snow
into full bloom.
.
I had waited before
Nine years, nine months
He could have said
Let there be…
But He had made me wait
and watch
slowly
like time-lapse photography
the gestation of a miracle.
He could have just said,
But He made me wait
and watch.
***
Pictures and poem by Arti of Ripple Effects, June 2010. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Ripple Effects 
Love the lacing of the branches over the street in your pictures, the slow greening (but then, it suddenly happens very quickly, doesn’t it?) and the weaving and lacing of your poem with the pictures.
This is art. Makes the reader soar.
And then I went back one blog to your prior one about your book fair and all your finds and eureka! I found some of the very same ones at our book fair several weeks ago. Wish we could take a mutual “time out” and read and discuss. Delighted to see you picked up Nadine Gordimor and Patton’s CRY THE BELOVED… which I haven’t yet finished. Oh, so many great ones in your pile. What a good time you’re going to have, and with the screenplay of Notting Hill, too! wonderful variety.
Enjoy AND keep us up to date on what you think of each when you’re done.
Such a rich life, the life of the bookaholic!
.
oh,
Yes, aren’t these book sales amazing! There were many more great titles too but I’m one very picky buyer… only looked for those in almost perfect condition. Anyway, I’m glad I found the Notting Hill screenplay, and also Sense and Sensibility, written by Emma Thompson who won the Oscars Best Adapted Screenplay with it. Another load of treasures… and I won’t forget the one I was so fortunate to have won too, Mayle’s Hotel Pastis!
Arti
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It’s hard to find anyone who would pay such careful attention and spend time to Nature nowadays. One who goes that extra mile in order to capture these beautiful shots taken by time lapse photography.
Arti, you are one highly sensitive person. I’m profoundly touched by your creativity & the Poem.
Enjoy the greenery and the Calgary summer…..plus your books.
.
Molly Mavis,
You know, not just me. When I went back to take my June 23 photo, there were two people there, one a visitor from another province. They asked me to take their pictures against the trees, which I gladly obliged.
Arti
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Those are beautiful, all. Nature, the photographs, your words.
.
Thanks Claire. In this day and age, Nature brings us the valuable lesson of waiting. “He makes all things beautiful, in His time.”
Arti
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Wow that’s the most amazing series of pictures. I’m dumbfounded.
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mee,
They do look amazing, even without the leaves. And, thanks for the link to your post on To Kill A Mockingbird.
Arti
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Oh my goodness, Arti! What a wonderful transformation you’ve captured!
.
nikkipolani,
Thanks… glad I thought of that idea back in April! And it was an amazing experience for myself too, to see the changes.
Arti
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I’m so glad you thought to take these photos at different times. Lovely. Your poem is thought provoking…
.
Thanks Ellen. It was just a sudden thought, so glad I followed through. As Wordsworth says, “Let Nature be your teacher…” so needed in our world that expects instant gratification.
Arti
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Waiting.
You have to have
Faith and Hope.
All good things come to those who wait.
Thank you for sharing, Arti.
.
cancan,
It’s a discipline, waiting. Indeed, without faith and hope, there’s really no point in waiting. Thank you for your comment.
Arti
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So, so beautiful. And so many thoughts in response, all at once.
From TS Eliot, who knew a thing or two about the nature of waiting:
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
And a thought of my own, silly but I’m sure absolutely true: God approves of slow blogging. (And isn’t this a perfect example of the genre!?)
The trees remind me of the live oaks that branch above so many Houston streets. They’re just lovely. It must be wonderful to watch their coming-back-to-life after your winters.
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Linda,
Thanks for leading me to TSE’s profound words. “… the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” Simply beautiful. In comparison, what I have written down here is just a little experiential knowledge about the blessings that could come out of waiting. Having to wait is so counterintuitive in our instant-everything society.
You’re spot on about the linkage of waiting with slow blogging. And yes, I’d agree that if God were blogging, he would be a slow blogger too, although he could just say “New Post!” He would enjoy reading all the thoughtful comments as well.
Houston streets… umm I’ve just got to see them.
Arti
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So so beautiful, my friend. Contemplation comes in the waiting time, which is one reason I love winter so much. It’s funny how we tend to think miracles are the ones that happen in an instant. Like Jesus turning water into wine. But water turns into wine every minute, over a long period of waiting.
I was terribly sad to hear about the 3-year-old, Arti. What a wretched thing. And it came just after I’d heard from Lorenzo about the Barcelona train tragedy on San Juan. I found this trio of train accidents (with my story) very strange indeed.
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Ruth,
Your’re so right about our expectations of what a miracle ‘should be’. We’re creatures bound by time, so naturally we’d think that overcoming such restrictions must be the better way, not knowing that often such restraints work to our benefits. As for all the inexplicable tragedies, I have no words. My heart goes out to these families involved.
Arti
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Love the series of photos. Spring and the greening of the trees is one of the most beautiful times of year. Like the poem too!
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Stefanie,
Isn’t the green wonderful to look at in comparison to the top photo. But you see, there’s beauty in the bare branches too. Thanks for your comment.
Arti
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So beautiful Arti–poem and pictures.The trees like hands clasped in prayer, or a cathedral arch. Waiting, yes, but well worth it!
Thank you.
.
ds,
Thanks and yes, ironically, the arch looks the best when the branches are bare.
Arti
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