The Wind, One Brilliant Day

I have been listening to readings by a wonderful British poet called David Whyte, who now lives in the Pacific Northwest. One poem he quotes in a talk about “Poetry in the Imagination” is by Antonio Machado:


The Wind, One Brilliant Day


The wind, one brilliant day, called
to my soul with an odor of jasmine.

"In return for the odor of my jasmine,
I'd like all the odor of your roses."

"I have no roses; all the flowers
in my garden are dead."

"Well then, I'll take the withered petals
and the yellow leaves and the waters of the fountain."

the wind left. And I wept. And I said to myself:
"What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?"

Translated by Robert Bly


This beautiful poem is a call to me to tend to my garden. No more excuses. None. Time to nurture my flowers.