Aaron Paquette Journal

Our Lady of Seeds
10 1/2" x 14"
Mixed Media
on Paper
2007

There is something so beautiful about the fragility of a dandelion that has gone to seed. Before someone has blown away the puff, or the wind or a passing creature has exploded all those little messengers out into the world, there is a delicate beauty about it that has never faded for me. Often when we say something has "gone to seed" we mean that it has been wasted; a crop that was not harvested. I often pass through "seedy" neighbourhoods in my regular routes through the city when I have errands to run. You can tell because the roads aren't maintained by the city, the zoning is confused, there's trash on the sidewalks and in the streets. The homeless -or otherwise unoccupied due to being unemployable, or struggling with addiction or mental illness- are common. It's the poorest of the poor in these neighbourhoods.

But if you look past the surface you see something wonderful. There's love, friendship, hope, and definitely determination. There are families with children who will grow and take the lessons of their youth with them, for good or ill, but we pray for the good. There's beauty everywhere, even when we feel hard pressed to find it.

Dandelions everywhere...and we call them weeds.

-