appreciation
October 2008 
What's the best letter you've ever received?
Posted on Sep 21st, 2007
by 
Resurrected1
Resurrected1
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for September 21, 2007:
LOL! There are so many! I love love love writing letters! I used to have letter writing contests with my friends and my ex-husband....I think I got up to about 75 pages (yeah, okay...I threw in alot of very very very's and wrote really big sometimes, LOL!!!)
I recently got a letter from an old friend and coworker, a man very much older than I, but a great mentor in the ways of Meditation and Vegan living...
Anyway...he wrote me a poem (I have a LOT of poems written to me by various people, which I will always keep close to my heart...wonderful stuff!!! I am so honored and Blessed!)
Here's the poem... ;-)
sniff, sniff, sniff, snuffle....so sweet! This is what I mean in my profile when I say I like "inspiring poetry (verb)"....I have many such masterpieces from people inspired by yours truly! Indeed I am thoroughly filled with Gratitude and Appreciation!
I recently got a letter from an old friend and coworker, a man very much older than I, but a great mentor in the ways of Meditation and Vegan living...
Anyway...he wrote me a poem (I have a LOT of poems written to me by various people, which I will always keep close to my heart...wonderful stuff!!! I am so honored and Blessed!)
Here's the poem... ;-)
A Rose In Brooklyn
Along crowded streets and busy thoroughfares
You'd be surprised to think it could be found even there.
How could something so subtle and divinely sweet
Be found amongst the grime and the clutter of the street.
But in defiance and determination
This seed willed its own germination.
Seeking nourishment in every elemental encounter
Life was precarious without shelter around her.
Exposed to every careless deed
Ignored and stepped on and mistaken for a weed.
But all these trials only strengthened the stock
Allowing her roots to penetrate deep below the rock.
Then in time when her persistence had won
She lifts her exquisite face to the warm sun.
And as the wind brushes the petals from her hair
A passerby notices her swaying there.
He has been wandering, heart heavy and head hung low
When his eyes catch this blossom shining up from below.
This unexpected beauty gives his soul such a lift.
He knew only from God could come such a gift.
For a moment he thought to leave this rose where she grew
But in his care was where she belonged, this he knew.
For no one could ever appreciate or begin to understand
The value of a rose that grew in Brooklyn like this man.
Along crowded streets and busy thoroughfares
You'd be surprised to think it could be found even there.
How could something so subtle and divinely sweet
Be found amongst the grime and the clutter of the street.
But in defiance and determination
This seed willed its own germination.
Seeking nourishment in every elemental encounter
Life was precarious without shelter around her.
Exposed to every careless deed
Ignored and stepped on and mistaken for a weed.
But all these trials only strengthened the stock
Allowing her roots to penetrate deep below the rock.
Then in time when her persistence had won
She lifts her exquisite face to the warm sun.
And as the wind brushes the petals from her hair
A passerby notices her swaying there.
He has been wandering, heart heavy and head hung low
When his eyes catch this blossom shining up from below.
This unexpected beauty gives his soul such a lift.
He knew only from God could come such a gift.
For a moment he thought to leave this rose where she grew
But in his care was where she belonged, this he knew.
For no one could ever appreciate or begin to understand
The value of a rose that grew in Brooklyn like this man.
sniff, sniff, sniff, snuffle....so sweet! This is what I mean in my profile when I say I like "inspiring poetry (verb)"....I have many such masterpieces from people inspired by yours truly! Indeed I am thoroughly filled with Gratitude and Appreciation!
Access: Public
Very beautiful, thank you for sharing Ariela! I can't wait to do my tribute birthday slideshow for you for next year. Love always,
Samme
Thank You, Samme…it IS a beautiful poem, I'm happy to share it and touch others ;-)
Ripple, Ripple, Ripple ;-)
Ooooh, I'm already excited about next year!!! Now I'm more excited!
You Are Divine, Samme!
~A big virtual HUG with you~
Ariela
my Dad grew roses in Brooklyn. :-)
thank you for sharing that poem with us!!!
you are the rose that grows in Brooklyn….and the sunshine that graces us in Massachusetts and the energy that infuses z-town….
you are a blessing and a light to all you touch!
love,
Amma
Awwww…shucks, you guys ;-)
I am but a reflection, you know ;-)
Friendstacy…is your dad still with us? This would be wonderful to share with him!
Ah, art imitates life, life imitates art ;-)
~Loving You All~!!!!!!!!!!
'fraid not, but that doesn't mean we can't share this poem with him anyway ;-)
Indeed we can…
I hereby rededicate this poem to your dad… for cultivating roses…especially the Lovely one named Stacy ;-)
A single rose growing from a crowded street, or sidewalk. Who would not see a beauty in that? However, the man in the poem is too selfish to believe that anyone is as sensitive as he. So, instead of allowing anyone else to also feel the pleasure that he felt from seeing the rose in its unnatural habitat, he convinces himself that it is a gift from God meant only for him, and so removes it. I would have had a better time thinking this poem beautiful if a photographer had found the rose instead of the man who was too selfish and self-deluded to share the scene with even one other person.
But Mykel, beautiful things in the big city (at least the part of Brooklyn where my father lived in the 1980's) get destroyed by those who can't appreciate them. Many would fail to see the beauty in it, unfortunately, and others would want to hurt it, as much as they themselves have been hurt. My dad tried growing roses in his front yard, by the street (he lived in the “garden” apartment, bottom floor of a brownstone). The angry young people invariably would come along and smash it all to bits.
LOL, Mykel…I said the same thing to my friend! I said, “Why didn't you leave the rose where it grew? It obviously brought some beauty where it was most needed…” ;-) (Boys…LOL)
And stacymyfriend ;-) I know what you mean! Roses look incredibly beautiful growing outside of brownstones!!! I also have seen the “angry young people” just rip them to shreds without thinking about the love it took to cultivate such beauties! (What is Wrong with people???) I also have seen people get a brand new car, only to find it torched to a crisp by the morning!
Something is seriously the matter with people who cannot appreciate things and leave it alone for the next person to enjoy (especially when it doesn't even belong to them)…but in reality…this is precisely the reason they destroy things…they feel it's not theirs, they're not connected to it, and it's not their problem…sigh…
…Well, I'm still being a Rose In Brooklyn, LOL ;-)
“I also have seen people get a brand new car, only to find it torched to a crisp by the morning!”
apologies in advance for going off-topic… ;-)
Dad paid more to park his car in someone's garage than rent for the apartment he lived in! and it wasn't a nice car, just an old vw bug named Isabel. but he would have been mighty upset if anyone messed with her.
LOL…this is my blog, not a Q&R…I LIKE going off topic to see where things go and flow ;-)
No apologies necessary! Let it flow, Let it flow…. ;-)
My sister's ex-husband had a VW Bug that he so loved too…LOL, I have never seen so much love between people and cars as with the VW Bug!!! Your dad sounds awesome…My dad kept his car really filthy inside and never wanted me to help him clean it up, because he said that people wouldn't steal something so dirty, LOL ;-)
Shame…they actually stripped it while it was parked!
And most people now DO park their cars at garages, paying huge fees! I bet the garage people and the theives are in cahoots with each other! LOL ;-)
I haven't been back to New York since New Years 1987. Hear things are lots different there now. At least on their website, the BBG still looks how I remember it. now, talk about ROSES!! OMG! Not my favorite part of the garden, because it's too formal for my liking, but when they were all blooming at the same time, Oh MY!
LOL…The Japanese Garden has gotten a complete overhaul (a few million dollars worth) a few years ago…it is soooo beautiful! But mostly still the same ;-)
Hahaha…I thought the same thing about the rose garden…way too “organized” LOL…they need to put up some trellises for them to grow on instead of just standing there in the middle of nothing ;-) Oh…and waaaay too many bees in there for my liking!
The BBG website does no justice for the place! I do however like the 360 degree thingee where you can look around in a complete circle ;-) Now if only we can virtually walkthrough!
And since you're familiar with the area…there are all sorts of new architecture and buildings (condos, what else)! Yes, indeedy…it's all changing! Becoming more cafe-friendly, which I like ;-)
The Japanese garden was always my favorite. I could just sit there all day, while Dad was at work. He was responsible for the therapy garden, there on the right just as you enter from Flatbush Ave. :-)
The Scent Garden? Holy cow, that's awesome! Really incredible and commendable!!!
Wow…that's better than visiting MY dad at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, LOL ;-) I'd rather be around the flowers, grass and trees than greasy old Navy Ships and burning metal, LOL ;-)
Damn, I miss Stacy :-(
~~~<3 Love to you where ever you are, SweetHeart.
Me too,great blog BTW