The Moonplant - Ipomoea alba

 Been waiting all day for this one to open. Moon rose at 8:51 PM here tonight. An hour ago the bud was still closed. The Moon is still behind the trees in back of our house. It will continue to rise and this bloom will continue to unfold until about 5:31 AM tomorrow morning when the Moon sets. And then it will begin to droop and die. 

There is poetry to this cycle which never ceases to amaze us. Parts of the Bible read like poetry, particularly Psalms. This has always been one of my favorites. Psalm 103:15-16. "As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more".

The Moon Flower

 

Here's a beautiful but strange flower,
which only blooms for a quick twelve hours.
After tracking the Moon across the sky,
when the Moon goes down the flower dies.

The bud behind it will blossom when
the next week's phase of the Moon begins.
And for every quarter after this one
a new bud comes just to be gone.

Such beauty born but for to die;
its only use to please man's eyes;
portends some power so much greater,
is evidence of some Creator.

Tied as it is to Earths only Moon,
born just to live and die too soon,
is pause to ponder just who we are,
circling round this vast sea of stars.

Photo by Sue Williams