THE GIFT OF THE POMEGRANATE
In every creative process is a cycle.
Recently I noticed that many of these cycles I have been journeying with over the past few months have been coming to a completion. They may have started long ago - but it feels like there was a knowing about their release time being Here and Now, in the midst of Winter. It's a little bit like a gestation period where you know the due date - and nothing is coincidental.
The magical pomegranates has been guiding me ever since rooting here on Crete. I have always loved watching their branches, heavy with the heart-shaped fruit, to discover their many seeds, separated by the delicate membranes. To drink their sour juice, bright red, nourishing the whole body.
In front of my kitchen window there is a pomegranate tree.
I watch it all year around as I do the simplest mundane tasks, like washing the dishes. The pomegranate and I come together here and we acknowledge each other's presence. I felt she was magical beyond words, before I even found out more about her.
I greet you every morning from our kitchen window.
And this time, I stayed here long enough to see poetry
unfold through your entire journey.
I witnessed the vulnerable time of your naked branches
Surprised by the gifts you were keeping hidden,
these little buds and blossoms that you revealed in the spring
and that you turned into small red jewels.
Many were scattered on the ground and formed a floor of red stars
Others grew larger as the summer faded into fall
They were so heavy on your branches, bending your limbs
But you still held on.
You awaited for us to pick them up.
And for the neighbours, too.
You wanted us all to know.
You wanted to remind us that you are right here, behind this house.
You wanted us to cherish you.
Like every year. And every day.
This house isn’t perfect, our lives aren’t either.
There will always be causes for worry, suffering and longing
in our flawed human existence.
But here you are, just reminding us to stay present.
Reminding us that being present is the only way
Not to miss your precious gifts.
“Letter to the Pomegranate Tree”
Written November 2020
Pomegranate has been a potent symbol in the mediterranean, since antiquity and beyond. She represents the underworld, the descent of Persephone (and our descent) to the darker realms. Her many seeds are a reflection of fertility and the seeds we can plant from this silent place, as we die and become born again.
I felt called to honour the Pomegranate and have crafted a limited series of Pomegranate Vessels & Pomegranate Incense Holders, using wild cretan clay from the land. All of these pieces have also been blessed by the smoke of a ceremonial fire, giving each of them unique marks.
My wish for these pieces is to bring the magic of Pomegranate in your space and to hold you through the cycles of death & rebirth that happen through our lives.