Why I love poppies

If I could come back as a flower it'd be a poppy or a sunflower.  Probably though, as much as I adore sunflowers, I'm more of a poppy person.

Why?  It is very hard to get rid of poppies once they are putting seeds in the ground.  They are like us, survivors, and like us they learn to stay underground or come up to the light depending on the conditions around them.  We know when there is a good place to grow because of the safety, nourishment and sunlight that we often lacked when we ourselves little seed pods.

I love poppies because they grow out of adversity of the most gruesome kind.  Like battle fields, like blood soaked fields.  We also grew out of adversity and not only survived but learned to thrive!  Maybe it took us a few seasons to get our roots down and like a poppy field not every seed comes up.  We don't always bloom right away nor do we find our place easily. 

Poppies are fragile flowers there is no doubt about it.  They don't have really firm blooms and their leaves are not woody or strong.  Their power is in their seeds, in their legacy.  No poppy ever truly dies if even one poppy lives to bloom again! 

Have you ever collected poppy seeds?  Put them in a little jar...and then accidentally dropped them?  You can NEVER pick up all the seeds!  They are too small, too round and designed to hide away!. 

They remind me of the stolen, treasured moments which no one could or can take away from us.  They are where our seeds are and when we can find them a place to grow we can see blooms, and seeds and so much come blossoming to light! 

How encouraging to know that one seed this size (.) can be the freedom seed for thousands of flowers!  Given a chance to grow, a poppy seizes it with an intensity that colors horizons, inspires poets and changes the world!  What would Remembrance Day be without that poem by the doomed McCray and the poppies we all wear?

What if it is more than our moments but also our words that are like poppy seeds?  What if we choose to be seeding a silent world with color and words?  I can imagine it...can you?

Today my heart hurt.  For a friend raped.. For a mama dog and her babies shot down.  For friends with sick children, husbands gone to the Lord.  For all of us.  

I almost didn't write anything today but when I went out to water the flowers the sun shone behind my poppy and I couldn't NOT write!  Even when you don't think you have something to say speak your heart.  Speak your poppy seeds and as survivors let's plant the world with healing!