Jun 7, 2016 Haibun, Original Poetry
Seedling and Child (A Haibun)
©June 6th (since it’s well past 2:00 a.m., I guess it’s the 7th), 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Such a little matter, transferring little seedlings into bigger pots, and setting them out in the sun! Until this year, my husband did all that. Now, that the garden is entirely my responsibility from start to finish, I found myself approaching it with trepidation. What if I killed a plant while transferring it? What if all this work came to naught? I filled the pots with potting soil and rich compost and a sprinkling of fertilizer, and mixed them well. Playing with sweet-smelling earth is always fun. The hard part came when I had to separate the intertwined roots of various plants (because there were three seedlings in each cell, sometimes more, sometimes fewer). I did so, hoping I wouldn’t break anything in the process. While transferring little seedlings from the seedling starter trays to individual pots, I spoke to them, patted the soil around their roots, and sang softly to them. The miracle is when they grow into tomatoes, brinjals (eggplant), green peppers, and other vegetables. As I do this earthy task, I see my daughter, eleven years old, tall and beautiful, full of music and kindness, still growing. I love how she’s this magical being who came from my body – how did this perfect person come to be? Soon, she’ll go to Summer Camp (and my heart beats a little harder when I think of it, since she’s never been away from home, except for TWO sleepovers in her entire life) for two months. She wants to go, and it’s a beautiful, music-filled camp surrounded by nature, near a lake, and she’ll learn many wonderful things with people we trust. I will not stand in her way.
Little seedling, grow!
Dance, and dream, and court the sun
May your roots reach deep.
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Tags: #Child, #dVerse, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #Seedling
Apr 20, 2013 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries, Parenting/ Home-schooling / Family Music and other Notes
What I shared on my FB page today (about my daughter):
Walking with S earlier tonight in the beautiful, cold air, we passed a yard, with a bed of small flowers lit by night lights. We admired the little flowers hugging the earth for a few seconds.
As we walked on, S turned to me and asked: “What kind of flowers does an ape like?”
I goggled at her in the dark. “What?”
Pat came her reply: “Chimp-pansies!”
(This child is turning into a paronomasiac.)
~Dreamer of Dreams
~~~~~~~~~ Goodnight, folks! ~~~~~~~~~~~
Tags: #Child, daughter and mother, eight-year old punster, night walk, paronomasiac