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Carolyn Martin - Poet

“All my life I have tried to find the truth and make it beautiful.” – Sting

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Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Around the corner

April 25, 2020 by Carolyn Martin 13 Comments

It happens this way …

One of the minor disappointments during this time of quarantine is not being able to make my annual pilgrimage to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Portland. Mid-May is usually the time when flowers and trees are at their height. But, because spring is a few weeks early this year, they are probably ready to burst into vibrant colors at any moment. 

Since I can’t travel the few miles it takes to get to the Garden, I went for a walk one street south and found the most glorious spring I can remember. Were camellias, lilacs, azaleas, dogwood, rhodies, golden chain trees always  within this two moment’s walk from my home? Of course! But because my focus was farther away, I missed the near-at-hand.  

I went for a stroll with my camera on this picture-perfect afternoon and here’s what I saw. Even the reflections in a rain puddle were beautiful!

 

The gift of being late

June 9, 2018 by Carolyn Martin Leave a Comment

It happens this way …

Two years ago I made my annual May pilgrimage to Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden a week too late. I missed the height of the rhody and azalea blossoms, but met a group of third graders on a field trip. My interactions with them were as much a gift as the garden itself. The result was the prose poem above published in Postcard Poems and Prose Magazine.

Lesson: Sometimes too late is right on time.

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