We’re driving to the dump
and it’s not a pleasant drive –
supermarket warehouses,
demolished buildings,
huge building sites,
galvanised spiked railings,
graffiti.
All strictly functional.
Then we turn a corner
and to our surprise we see
a huge mound of earth
absolutely covered
in red poppies,
all swaying gently
in a light summer breeze.
I stare in amazement.
Poppies?
In this desolate place?
And yet there they are,
blowing and glowing
in the sunshine!
“Who on earth planted these?”
I wonder.
A few weeks later
I discover that flower seeds
can lie dormant
for decades
and then flower unexpectedly
when the ground is disturbed.
This all makes sense –
the poppies are a throw-back
to the days when this was all part
of the Bog Meadows
and some of the recent building work
has woken the seeds!
This gives me hope.
You see,
sometimes I worry
about seeds of a different kind
that I have sown –
seeds of faith
that were sown and nurtured
through the years,
only to disappear.
Maybe, like the poppy seeds,
they’re lying dormant,
waiting for the right conditions
to burst into bloom?
And so, as I remember
that beautiful mound
of swaying poppies
down by the dump,
I take heart
and I place my trust in God.
Time to be patient, I think!
© Claire Murray, 30th June 2025