Hollyhock Fields

A whole field of hollyhocks isn’t a gang or something tough or something brave. It’s only a reminder of fragility which is really quite a gorgeous part of life. It’s true to say Hollyhocks don’t stay blooming all year round. It’s true to say not everyone does. There’s closed up days. There’s wilting moments. Then there’s that surprise when a bloom opens to the sun and life feels imminently possible. I started planting hollyhocks once upon a time. Sometimes I still do. The petals are ever so sweet. Sometimes those softer edges feel like home should. A hollyhock doesn’t need to stand up for itself. People shouldn’t need to either. There’s a whole ecosystem that helps a hollyhock grow; soil, sun, insects, bees, rain, people…love. You could set a match to a field of hollyhocks of course but that wouldn’t mean much more than winning nothing at all, just a field full of ashes. You can put love just out of arms reach like that, little games about chasing an outdated idea of bravado or power but that’s an illness, not a lesson. Hollyhocks are a lesson, not because they look taller or braver but because they look so quaint and gentle, up a stalk and to the sun. It’s because they stand up for themselves or sit up on a stalk with the help of an intricate system of support. Nobody can thrive without support, without love, without services and others that are ready to help plant the fields and forests of tomorrow. Be careful not to make judgements or to come to a conclusion until you lift up the softer tissue paper to find the card. Say we are all capable of being a gift, well sometimes people leave the card and forget to open it. Perhaps that’s where the most important part was, further in, deeper down. Sometimes you don’t always need the card. Be happy with the fields already planted. Sometimes that’s hard. Life is an expectation, like a garden. We expect love until it is put too far away then we crave love too much or hanker for something else. Valentine’s Day is a funny one. It’s kind of like a hollyhock gang advertising love. It’s been money for a long while, Valentine’s Day . It can be ok in some ways but it’s only one day in a year. It’s not so bad to give and receive gifts to a point. I’m thinking a good hollyhock gang could be all year round you know. Sometimes we seem to be hanging on for dear life. Oh dear what a mess can be made. Oh dear what a beautiful garden can be planted too. Happy Valentine’s Day To be Sure to be Sure. For a thousand years before and more, for a thousand years ahead and more give peace a chance and may the colours of a Chameleon blend cultures into loving and have us standing out like a field of beautiful, yet fragile and resilient flowers. Xx