The Blooming Lily
I walk through this garden
My white dress blowing in the breeze of Summer
The sky is blue
Not a cloud in the way of its perfection
Its purity –
And even though we see this sky everyday
Its uniqueness
I walk through this garden
Picking the flowers –
Choosing the memories that lay in my heart
Forever with me in my soul
I walk through this garden
My white dress set apart from the green grass
I walk through this garden
Closer to a tree in a corner in this garden
This tree was tall and full
Its branches seem to offer an embrace
Its protection
Like a parent holding their baby in their arms
And closest to the trunk of this tree we a lily
It stood high and proud reaching toward the rays of the sun
So young, so pure, so innocent
Everything in my soul told me to pluck this flower
This lily
So I reached out my hands
Closer and closer to the stem of this flower
This lily
I dropped the batch of flowers that I held already in my hands
To me they just didn’t seem to stand out
To shine
Like this blooming lily
And when I finally held it in my hand
Close to my heart
I could feel its joy
The joy it felt as it was nurtured by the sun
And sprinkled by the dew of the early morning
At the same time I could feel when the sun was covered by the clouds of the sky
And left this blooming lily in the shadows
But it kept its spirits up
Looking forward to better and brighter days
When the sun would focus all of its rays upon her
But something happened
Something that couldn’t be explained
An event so extraordinary if seemed like a sin to speak of it
I heard my Father’s voice coming from this tree
Its embraceful arms reaching out to me
I lay in his arms listening to his words
“This lily is special,” He said to me.
“And do you know why?” He asked.
I could only shake my head and admire the beauty of this flower
The Blooming Lily
“For every lily that you pick my child
A batch more shall grow.
Because from every hardship it has to bounce back and grow into something useful.
Something productive.
Because you see my child,
No one can hold my children back.
Not as long as I am their Father
And my wonderful embrace protects them.”
I watched as more lilies grew in this garden
Matching the white of my dress
And the purity of its soul
“But if you water my lilies,
Then my child they have choice but to grow.
Because love cannot tear us down.
But only build us up.
And lilies show love, purity, and innocence.
Because this lily my dear
Is my child
And I am her Father.
Now take this watering can
And love my Lillie
With all of your heart.
And all of your soul.
And tell of her story.
So that she may live on forever, my child.”
I pranced off in the garden
Watering the lilies
And watching them grow
And on the days when the sun is bright
And the morning dew gently lays on the petals of the lilies
I sit in the middle of this garden
In my white dress
And I tell of her story
The Blooming Lillie
--Ebony Amora Dailey
This is the poem that I wrote for my grandmother to go on her obituary.
~~*EBONY*~~ | 
