II PAUSE… Expressed by Nana , at 4:22 PM, in

¡Hola, todos! In less than 24 hours I will be sitting eyeball to eyeball with an English HL paper-it will be bloody…for the paper of course...hopefully. Which is partly the reason for this post: My end of semester exams begin tomorrow, commencing a bombardment of Economic models, Chemical equations, Spanish ¡!, the like so I guess I’ll be away for like a week (If I try hard enough to keep myself away). Do keep me fondly in your prayers and good wishes.

The other reason for this post is to share something I observed this morning. Everyday I walk to and from school along a ‘path’ that is not exactly what you may call user-friendly. Recently I came to realize that even though it is not the most picturesque scene it is quite endearing in its unconventional beauty - the rickety bridge above the diseased-looking drying lake/lagoon, the half-burnt tri-palm (most unusual) amidst very, very weed-infested farmland, even the half-shaded, half-sunned street sprinkled with sheep pellets. It’s all quite charming, after it grows on you, that is.

However, yesterday while walking back from school I saw what looked like two budding Ethiopian lilies (Google images won’t help) of the palest yellow and deepest red, right in the middle of the weed-trodden farmland, about 2 meters away from the half-burnt tri-palm....It was simply beautiful. But as always I didn’t have a camera (I know, flop). Regardless I had to stop and stare for a bit, hoping that I would see it bloom.

This morning it had bloomed: breathtaking beauty in the most unlikely place. The pale petals facing the earth coyly as though they were unsure of their beauty; it was simply exquisite and as I walked I thought to myself:

Its interesting how you can find beauty in the most unlikely places, all you have to do is open you heart and mind to it

Consequently a poem I’ve loved since our first encounter came to mind: William Wordsworth’s She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways. Hope you enjoy it and remember to think of me (and my exams) whenever you ask for grace and guidance.

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:

A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!

PS: Turns out the flower as most beauty is was ephemeral; it had withered on my walk back from school so my hopes of getting a picture to post have been dashed. Pity, really :(