MAGNOLIA

A light wind gusts through the bank of magnolia trees on the edge of the castle park, and the ripened blossoms, pale pink and white, swell with the weight of the breeze. Two children wander through the garden, gathering fallen petals and placing them in a small basket. Smiling, the children offer the basket to their mother.

“For you,” says the girl.

The mother holds the basket for a moment, then she releases a handful of blossoms into the sparkling shaft of daylight filtering through the branches. One petal at a time they float to the warm ground, marking the end of one season, and the start of the next.   

“Thank you,” she says. “Thank you.”

Magnolia is one of the compositions on my CD Songs From the Castle. It was inspired by the wall of magnolia on one side of the Lerbach castle park. It's early April, and the flowers are just getting ready to bloom again.