The five-year-old ignored
the advertised exhibits
and, nose pressed to the glass,
patiently waited,
until she saw a crack,
a tiny beak.
Finally, a wet, vulnerable chick 
emerged from its protective shell.

The child learned:
if you wait long enough,
you get what you hoped for.

But certainty crumbled
when she didn’t get the prize,
a loved one died,
another shut the door,
and a third moved on without her.

Then, she learned
you can wait and wait and wait. . .
you can die before receiving
what you hoped for.

She was certain now
of her helplessness.

Yet, year after year, she tended 
a plant that might never flower.

One day, 
when she forgot she was waiting,
a bud appeared.
It opened and revealed 
the tender seeds it guarded,
tight-fisted.
Then, heart pressed against her chest,
she leaned in and listened 
as her beloved flower
let its petals
fall
one by one
into her grateful, trembling hands. 

I have learned not to worry about love;
but to honour its coming with all my heart.
–Alice Walker

Credits and References:
“Baby Chick Hatching” by Joan. Used with permission.
“Certain” by Esther Hizsa, 2024
“Geum Cosmopolitan” by Sylvia Sassen. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2024.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2024.  http://www.estherhizsa.com