Picture a little girl, with long dark braids, picking fallen frangipani flowers from the under the tree. Breathing in their pungent scent, heady in the heat of the African sunshine, she gathers them into patterns on the dark soil. In that other life, she wonders barefoot after school, seeking out the other children as the begin to appear once homework is abandoned. The pomegranates are red and ripe, they are bittersweet and annoying to eat. With deft, juice stained fingers, the fruit becomes ammunition where there is no war, only grand amusement. Satisfied and lethargic, the entire gang sprawls on the cool grass, spitting pips and tall tales, with no thoughts of the past or the future. ‘Time will tell’ opens the box containing the passage of time. To welcome the future, she seeks to entice the joys of the past into the present.

Time is the essence of life Inherent in every earthly soul. Time indulges us when we begin, And whilst we grow in our knowledge of the universe and her ways. Unrestrained. Unrestricted. Time stands by our innocence.

Then there comes the formidable moment When we understand the inevitable exchange. In a millisecond we cross the threshold from timeless to finite. Time graciously allows us nostalgia, yet offers no consolation.

Now fettered by the relentless passage, We hold tight to our hearts the scents and sounds of formative years, Refusing to relinquish them to our new master. Time commands respect. Time is ever present Until the vessel is emptied And the soul is free.

'Time will tell' is a mixed media painting.