An Ode To The Unsung

I was walking by the side
Of a lovely pond
On a delightful spring day,
When I noticed a flower blooming.

I decided to wait and watch
As the petals showed me,
The unseen beauty; a treasure trove,
A pleasure well hidden!

I must admit that I was lost
Forever under nature’s power
A force so overwhelming on my solitude;
A bliss unknown – unfolded to me!

That’s when I noticed
The little green leaf,
That was holding on
To the gentle flower.

It looked so ordinary,
And in such contrast to the shine
Of it’s pleasant sibling,
And for once, I admit, nature made no sense!

I realized there wasn’t
An ounce of beauty on that wet soggy leaf;
It seemed to have no task,
But just a gentle leg to hold!

Could mother nature have been
So incorrect, to make such
A bliss of a bloom and then bury
Her daughter in the arms of an abhorrent stranger?

It then dawned on me,
That had it not been
For that tiny little leaf
Beauty would not have been!

So seemingly unsung, so very timid
That none, not even the one above,
Seemed to care or notice;
Just a mere nothingness – just so unseen.

Is it a curse, strange and sad
That the rungs shall remain unknown?
And those who climb above
Forget the one they stamped!

Humanity is so unwise
To forget the ladder left behind;
True legends are not born
Without some broken rungs!

As I saw the beautiful leaf
I was short of praise;
It wasn’t the flower’s fault
But rather, nature’s law!

Beauty is neither in flesh
Nor is it in shallow glow;
True beauty lies in acts selfless,
Those done for no returns!

I started to walk away, pondering
The legacy that nature left to me;
What’s true beauty – the one praised or those unsung?
A lesson learnt by that wayside pond!