A Poem That Celebrates Diversity
This poem, "The Flower Garden" is about the importance of appreciating individuality as opposed to uniformity in our families, at work, at school, in our communities and in our society on every level. It is diversity which makes our societies great not uniformity and sameness but our differences.
One day, as I was walking
I came across a garden…
long I stood there to gaze
every flower seemed perfect
and worthy of praise…
bold in color, refined in symmetry…
how difficult a task to select from these
the one that would the most please,
as somehow their beauty was uniform;
but I beheld one in particular,
a little flower
that first looked quite ordinary-
yet with fragile beauty
it somehow beguiled…
I stood there for quite a while.
As the sun's rays
gently fell down on its petals,
it stood out among all the rest
with a singularity…
a flower that many would have ignored-
for it might not have passed the critic's test
but nonetheless a beauty it did suggest;
and upon closer look
its glory would suddenly unfold,
with its petals
a soft palette of pastels,
to one who could behold…
but to the impatient,
undiscerning eye-
it would have been dismissed,
and lack of perception
so confirming its imperfection;
unattended to would have wilted
or treated as a weed
for those more salient qualities
in their criteria which it could not meet…
and in a wasteland tossed
its virtue lie in vain,
a beauty never to be seen again
as it slowly dies…its uniqueness forever lost.
In Lora Hollings' poem "The Flower Garden," the speaker learns a profound lesson from observing the "little flower" amidst the larger, seemingly more impressive blooms.
The speaker initially perceives the garden's beauty as being derived from the uniformity of its flowers. However, the little flower's "fragile beauty" and its ability to "beguile" the speaker, makes the speaker realize that true beauty and strength lie in diversity and the appreciation of individuality.
This realization expands the speaker's understanding of what constitutes a vibrant and harmonious society. The speaker learns to value the unique contributions of every member of a community, be it a family, a workplace, a school, or society at large, recognizing that diversity, rather than uniformity, is what truly makes societies great.
Source: The Flower Garden
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