Open Your Eyes!
To shop, and school, to work and play,
The busy people pass all day;
They hurry, hurry, to and fro,
And hardly notice as they go
The wayside flowers, known so well,
Whose names so few of them can tell.They never think of fairy-folk
Who may be hiding for a joke!O, if these people understood
What’s to be found by field and wood;
What fairy secrets are made plain
By any footpath, road, or lane—
They’d go with open eyes, and look,
(As you will, when you’ve read this book)
And then at least they’d learn to see
How pretty common things can be!— Cicely Mary Barker
With hardly a shop or school to go to, one of the silver linings for us during lockdown has been time to walk or run most days. Without the rush of normal life, we have had time to appreciate the wild flowers growing along nearby pavements, paths and in meadows and woodlands.
Such an abundance at this time of year. Time to look as Cicely Mary Barker suggests.
As we walk by them and see how much they’ve grown since we last took that route, they have become friends. Of course, we don’t know all their names, but we are slowly learning one by one.
This week was Lady’s Smock:
It feels important to know the name, not for knowledge’s sake, but I find it helps us see the flower more truly in all its individuality and beauty. As for learning their Latin names, one day hopefully!
A few things that have helped us appreciate the wild flowers more fully:
Hope this helps you appreciate the flowers you pass more fully.
Recommended Posts:
Living Books: Children’s Literature Recommendations and Lists
CLASSICALLY CURIOUS 