The Poetry in the Faded Tulips

By Coreyamaro

The tulips dried in a vase, bowed softly.

I sat on the edge of the chair finding them more beautiful than when I first bought them.

"Should I toss them out?" French Husband asked.

I shook my head, "They speak poetry to me."

Thankfully, French Husband gets my imagination, he nodded and gave me a gentle look.

Two weeks ago I bought them when an annual check up, a blood test came back slightly skewed.

My doctored advised a MRI to be safe.

I was anxious. Scared. Worried. I found myself asking and answering in my own conversation. 

"The blood test is off..."

"But I feel fine."

"You felt fine when you had ovarian cancer."

"If I were ill I wouldn't feel this good."

"Remember last time."

My friend Cheryl reminded me, that the old fear was awaken by this scare, and that I was layering on it. "Your past is not your present, believe that."

I tried.

When we are confronted with our own mortality the depth of who we are comes to surface. The meaning of everything sits by our side, and tulips can speak.

I took confidence in the love I saw in French Husband's eyes.

Those dogs that walked along side of me (yesterday's post) spoke volumes.

I waited without layering on to the old fear. It wasn't easy.

The results were good. But the reminder was powerful.

Flowers fade. Beauty remains.

I don't want to forget that feeling of urgency, the enourmous joy of the moment in front of me, that whatever happens I want to embrace and find beauty in it.

Thankfully I can embrace a good result.

      

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