Beyond Patience

Beyond Patience

If I knew another word for patience,
would it open me to the act?
Perhaps something that invokes the patience
in the zinnias after first central flower has died
and before the next buds are formed.
Something that speaks to the patience of winter
while the field is greening more deeply every day.
To be patient is to believe there is a moment
beyond now that will be better than now.  
So perhaps instead of patience, the word
I’m longing for is presence. The capacity
to be only here. Only now. Here in the garden
where the zinnia row is thick with leaves.
Here in the meadow where it’s warm and
the tall grass tickles my bare thighs. Now
in the week before my sweet girl arrives.
Ah, there it is, back to the anticipation.
Try again. Presence, as in now, in this moment
when swallows swoop and skate and swirl.
Now, when my breath opens in my chest,
opens like a zinnia, many petalled and red.

~ Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer ~


And here I am, again.
Inspired by this gift and its thoughtful discerning between patience and presence.
With the perfect photo as complement.
Simple. Elegant. Present with what is here now.
Only now.

Much love and kindest regards, dear friends.

Author: Katharine Weinmann

writes award-winning poetry, walks long distances, sees beauty in life’s imperfections and photographs its shimmer View all posts by Katharine Weinmann