Ordinary Miracle – a poem by Sheila Wellehan

Ordinary Miracle 

The columbine that self-seeded, 
squeezing into a crack of shallow dirt 
in my home’s concrete foundation 

has flourished. Dozens of red 
and yellow bell-shaped flowers 
dangle above my dog’s water bowl, 

feeding hungry hummingbirds. 
The same plant, Aquilegia canadensis, 
that I carefully planted five feet away, 

in rich soil with optimum conditions, 
has petered out, returning as a diminished 
version of itself each year. 

I’m sure there’s a lesson here, 
but instead of trying to figure it out, 
I relish this ordinary miracle.

Sheila Wellehan’s poetry is featured in On the Seawall, Rust & Moth, Thimble Literary Magazine, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Whale Road Review, and many other publications. She’s an assistant poetry editor for The Night Heron Barks and anassociate editor for Ran Off With the Star Bassoon. Sheila lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. You can read her work atwww.sheilawellehan.com .