The Copihue, or Chilean Bell flower, is the national flower of Chile. Yet, strangely, not many Chileans have actually seen it in person. It grows in only a few of Chile’s southern regions and rarely has more than a few blossoms per vine. The Copihue vine is so slender that it needs the support of fences or other trees, yet the blossom is large and beautiful. Many people might identify with the Copihue, because they are not the biggest, nor strongest, nor the most popular among their peers. But just because you may not be the center of a crowd of admirers, does not mean that you do not have great value as an individual. The following poem describes the feeling of loss due to the departure of a friend and the wisdom that I learned from a wind-blown bush.
HUSH
By Al Vester
“Hush,” said the bush as the breeze blew by,
“Hush for my heart has started to cry.”
The winds from the south will bring the rain,
And the wind from the north may bring sharp pain
Of frigid snows and frost-bit toes.
But the hardest breeze there is to bear
Is the one that says our love’s not there.
When they’re swept away like a thistle down,
The wind never says where they’ll be found.
No trace is left but the puff of dust
That drifts on by
And leaves in its wake a dying sigh.
It mourns for the loss of the one that has flown
On the wings of the wind and left us alone.
Alone with the wail of the wind in our ears
Like the formless voice of a thousand tears.
And only a bush growing green and lush
Is wise enough to tell it “Hush.”
In my youth, I daily endured a forty-five-minute bus ride to the county seat where my high school was located. Continue reading “Have you ever been lonely?”