Tiny Things
At distance the Barbados Cherry is unremarkable. A green shrub beneath green trees. Up close it’s another story. There’s a show. It’s covered in buds, less than 3/16th of an inch, and flowers that are about 5/8th of an inch. The flower has five petals, a single pedal at the top, one pedal on either side, reaching out like arms, and two pedals at the bottom that are close together and have the appearance of legs. There are yellow stamens in the center where the little cherry soon will be.
It’s one of those plants that rewards the random walk around the garden, because the only way to see the beauty of the buds and the flowers is to be standing next to them. To be close and personal. It’s the beauty of a book found by reading, or the beauty of a dew drop on a blade of grass. It’s the reward for effort, for going slow, for looking in the hope of seeing. Because sometimes when you look you see a little flower that appears to be offering a hug.