The Tulips Poem by Savita Tyagi

That was the year I planted tulip bulbs.
After a year of eager and patient waiting
The gorgeous red and yellow flowers
Of mellow beauty filled in the garden.

I watched every morning in quiet admiration,
The dew drops and bees circling on soft petals.
The young tulips in mischievous breeze made,
Flower bed sizzle with life, vibrant and aerial.

As morning rays spread to light up the sky
From tall glass windows of my living room
Their exquisite brilliance and soothing aura
of beauteous harmony entered into my being.

But I didn't know much about tulips then.
Soon I came to realize that each stem
Bore just one flower, and their delicate
Flashy bloom lasted only for a week most.

I felt chagrined and cheated for my labor.
A sadness prevailed as the flowers wilted
And the single stem soon started to limp.
This was my first intimate tending of gardening.

Nothing much I could do but to miss the tulips
And endure the hurt of their short span of life.
As spring advanced into summer, the long
Herbaceous plants also withered to ground.

To see flowerbeds devoid of green was a blow.
The intricate planning of nature felt erroneous.
The showy life and the quick decay, that the
Tulips exhibited was new to my experience.

Or should I say that for the first time I was
Touched so deeply by the natural ending of
plant life. Like the devastating loss of my mother,
The saddest encounter- I took long to recover.

But nature is still kind and benevolent.
It takes our loved ones never to return again
But blesses us again with family and friends.
Tulips too bloom every year again and again.

They give me a week of their life filled with
Amorous beauty and post a cruel message
Wrapped in quiet tenderness to accept
Mother Nature's workings at her behest.