The Cherry Tree Knows

IMG_0234The cherry blossoms popped out this past week, throwing their abundance in my face. I wasn’t ready for this. The large tree behind our house in Brooklyn declares that Lucian’s birthday is approaching. I watch the tree each year, holding a small hope close to my heart: that it blooms its lush, pink petals just around April 27th, that they will hang over us like they did on his second birthday when one little friend came over. We ate cake with strawberries and cream, and my curly haired boy sat on my lap to blow out his candles. Or like they bloomed for his third birthday, when we invited other children to bring their tricycles and scooters, and they raced around on the driveway under the pink canopy.

I’ve been peeking at the buds all around our neighborhood, able to enjoy their occasional bursts of color and frivolity with a peaceful sense of appreciation.  At the same rate as the buds themselves (tiny, timidly at first) come out, I’m drawn back into the circle of growth, dormancy, regrowth.  Life, death, life.

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2 thoughts on “The Cherry Tree Knows

  1. Anna, What a very beautiful post, and photos. (I love Lucian with his camera and mixed plaids…) I remember well your instagram post from the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago talking about the melancholy of spring with its new life… I’ve been thinking about it all month as the leaves and flowers burst forth and Lucian’s birthday approaches. The cherry tree is magnificent.
    Love to you, Ellen

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