THE UNFOLDING OF A NEW STORY
(Posted on 12 October 2018)
A few weeks ago a cactus outside my office started flowering. I hadn’t really noticed it until the day there was a bud and a full flower. I had seen and eaten cactus fruit before but never seen its flowers.
The day after I noticed them, it rained. The droplets and soft light after rain were just what I needed for the macro shots that I had in mind. I put one of the flowers as my profile photo on WhatsApp. My friend Esther asked about the photos, and when I told her the story of a cactus flowering outside my office, she was inspired to write a poem.
I thought the gift of the cactus flowers was delightful enough on its own. However, in its own extravagant way heaven keeps multiplying this gift.
The Unfolding of a new story
You only knew the Cactus
For her thorns
And admired her resilience
Under the desert sun.
Little did you know
She too could flower
Bright and elegant
In parched lands.
You only knew the Cactus
For her thorns
And never saw the mischief
Buzzing within her bulbous stems
Little did you know
That along with her endurance
Was a free-spirit
Waiting to amaze with its unfolding.
You only knew the Cactus for her thorns
Yet, here she is in full bloom
Sapphire pink and a crown of yellow
Outside your office window
A heavenly rose
Offered to you
Uncut
From God's own garden:
Prepare
To be touched
By her beauty.
Prepare
To be enchanted
By her fragrance.
Prepare
For the unfolding
Of a new story.
—For Phyllis Muthoni,
Poem by Esther Muthoni Wafula
Beauty in likely and unlikely places.
