i looked at this flower and it reminded me of somebody praying. i realized that the light coming down from above somehow looked churchlike, and then i realized that if the light had been more horizontal, this flower would have looked shadowed and interesting but not like it was praying. and then i realized that all the windows in those old cathedrals were up high, and i wondered if any part of that architectural decision had to do with people’s tendency to look at whereever the light is coming from, and in this case, the light is all coming from approximately heavenward. i’m not particularly devout, but the thought makes my feel happy and peaceful somehow.

dahlia (i’m almost sure, but possibly mum??)