sibling...

...rivalry

with flowers half a world apart

these lovely flowers - are from one of the community garden plots - which belongs to a wonderful - individual named ‘joy’ - joy is very precise - when it comes to her - garden; where her flowers - will be placed, which are next - to what and what direction - they’re facing and the kind - of care they receive - she was telling me how she - has a brother in the uk - who does gardening for a living - and sort of turned his nose up - when she shared with him - how she was tending to two little gardens - of her own here - i got the impression that even though - she told me it didn’t - matter to her, his words - did indeed cut deep and had hurt her

isn’t it funny - that no matter how old we get - we continue to desire - positive affirmations from our siblings - a gentle nod - a “well done, you” - a pat on the back - some sign of recognition from them - that they realize we’ve put in - hard work and wish to shine - in their eyes - because they’re family - and they matter after all - aside from petty sibling rivalries - of who can outdo whom - the bottom line remains - you want to believe that - family ties cannot be broken - especially if that’s all you have - left in this world

i knew joy took great pride - in her garden plot - i mean, how many people think - about putting yellow flowers with blue - it’s such a classic combination - so i took the time - to praise joy for her efforts - and compliment her on how - well everything was doing - those simple words lit up her face - and warmed my heart - and i knew for both of us - it would be...

a

happy day.....