Earthmother (for Heidi)

When I think of you, it is with thoughts of butterflies and flowers. I did not know their names until you told me, like a precious secret, like this knowledge was the only true wealth, and how lucky that we could be rich together. Perhaps I would not know to love the world from the roots up, as you do, without your quiet enthusiasm for everything that grows.
It might seem a perilous undertaking of the spirit, to see what beauty is still alive in this world of smoke, and speed, and fear, but as I question if there is hope for us in the times to come, I remember you in your garden, smiling, and showing us that hope is everywhere if you know where to look.