The Eaten Flower

One of the things I love to photograph

is decay. 

To see the beauty in not only the perfection of a flower, in its full blooming glory, but also 

the variations through time. 

This particular hibiscus was in a butterfly garden. 

Though visibly eaten by young caterpillars, 

it still radiated with the health of its pink color, and brightness -seeming to hold a love for its placement in the world. 

May be Stockholm syndrome, to love the place that designates you as food.

May be a knowing of the giving leading to eventual receiving. Eventually hungry, sticky tubes transform to winged creatures 

Who visit for nectar, 

carrying the pollen, 

the essence of the flower, 

to areas inaccessible for rooted plants.

May be the photographer projecting her own meaning onto organisms that 

simply are. 

But I couldn’t help but be memorized by its beauty,

Its health 

despite being eaten away. 

I think of motherhood that way, 

giving our petals joyfully to our children. 

This flower made it look beautiful.

I wanna make it beautiful…

#photography#nature#naturephotography#flower#mom#poem#mompoetry