The Missing Flowers

It pains my heart to see the flowers of my garden disappear often.

Where are the Flowers Gone?

Where are the flowers gone

from my flower garden?
They were here only last evening.
 
Has a stray goat eaten them up
or a holy cow wandering the village paths?
Was it an over-active dog
chasing a rat?
 
Was there a storm last night?
Not a howling noise did I hear.
Had it been a storm,
other signatures of the bully
would be seen scattered here and there.

As I went out for a walk next morning
I saw a devotee with a small basket.
She was pulling a branch of a flower plant
with a long hooked stick
and plucking the flowers
obviously from someone else’s garden.
 
She was collecting flowers in the basket
hanging from her arm
for her revered god or goddess.
I realized in a flash
the fate of the flowers of my garden
They have been privileged to touch
the feet of a deity.

But my gardener heart still complains,
“Could not the woman have asked for flowers?”
If she had, I would have gladly given her
all the flowers she wanted
I would have plucked the flowers
and placed them in her basket,
flowers tied with my little prayers
and my humble devotion.


By Xavier Bage, 
10th Nov 2012