Easter Bloom

An amaryllis that I had received as a gift for Christmas 2007 was in full bloom this early Easter. No longer dependent on other's photographs of red bloom, I offer this homegrown image as testimony to all that Nature wants to lavish on us. I post anew the poem that I received with the bulb.

Rising resolutely despite the dwindling daylight and sounding silent
Reveille, the red amaryllis,
Regal in her ruby-hued robe,
Rebuffs winter’s withering embrace.

Radiant, it refuses to don reason’s dreary pall. Irrationality trumps timid
Rule-sticking. The red amaryllis,
Resplendent in raiment reminiscent of summer’s revelry,
Rejects the inevitability of despair.

“Remember the lilies of the field?” it seems to say. Hope quickens.
Revived by the red amaryllis,
Reverence reappears to remind us of
Resurrection.