Comfort

April 5

I am thankful for comfort. Not comfort that means you lie around all day long, doing nothing, but rather, comfort that lets you relax every once in a while so that your life is not consumed by work and stress. Comfort enough to really enjoy life.

This photo is of white clover  (Trifolium repens). I liked the way that the stems are long and are reaching up high.  The reason I connected clover with comfort is the old saying "in clover", which means living a life of comfort and prosperity. This probably came from the fact that cattle fatten up by eating clover all day long. Clover is considered by some to be an unacceptable weed, but it has a positive function for lawns by fixing nitrogen and reducing weed growth. The Trifolium in the scientific name refers to the three leaves that clover grows. The shamrock in Irish lore is a Trifolium. According to St. Patrick, the leaves of a shamrock represent the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The four leaf clover is considered lucky primarily because of its rarity (1:10,000). The leaves of the four leaf clover are said to represent faith, hope, love, and luck. Honeybees and bumblebees pollinate clover, so clover has a beneficial effect.

ode to a four leaf clover

hello mister clover

i see you’ve kind of taken over

my front yard this day

time to get out the mower

cut down your unwinsome blooms

and make the bees a little mad

but to see the grass again

that would not be entirely bad

so as i cut

and roll the mower along

i spy a four leafed clover

now i’m singing a new song

with that luck i will succeed

be healthy and happy

rich and not in want or need

but just when i try to stop

to get that self drive off

it keeps on going and

cuts that four leafer off.

© rt tulley