The Poetry Snapshot: The Lotus

Chaos is grasping for water when you’re drowning,
but only swallowing muddy water.
It feeds off this fear and thrives in uncertainty.

You stand by the edge,
looking out at the pond, patiently.
Today is when the lotus begins to bloom.
The only flower to bloom petal by petal.
Like the consistency of flowering,
you like predicting the future
and staying on track.

A large lily pad is by your feet.
You pay attention to it,
but keep your distance.
And then a Child steps on.
Fearlessly and effortlessly,
without a second thought.
For a moment, this Child was God.

The Child looks up directly at you,
not with any sense of urgency,
but as if warning you about what comes next.
Because God cannot be blindsided.
The Child dances off the water lily,
and you are still caught off guard.

Trying to look past your concentrated fear of chaos
you jump into the pond for rescue.
But your disarray only drags you further down.
Even in the muddiest of waters,
a lotus finds the graceful power to blossom.

You watch the Child flow through this chaos;
unbothered and elegantly just like the lotus,
and you are rescued.