Along the Volga

Hearts 

Hearts are home, family, friends that haven’t met yet
When you realize opportunity has met preparation
The joy when you win, but don’t remember your bet
All of the simplest things with the greatest relation

Hearts are the goodness that we all carry deep within
Random acts of kindness, a gentle word, opened door
Sticking through the hardest times to help a friend
Hoping when all hope seems lost and so much more

Ace:     One pip, alpha, omega, planting the seed
The smallest beginning, the greatest need

Lesson: Don’t discount even the smallest things in life

Deuce:  This is the green shoot starting to grow
Different, but still quite important you know

Lesson: Learn to recognize when growth is just beginning

Three:  Such small details anchor a firm foundation
Roots reach deep so leaves reach elevation

Lesson: What’s hidden is at least as important and maybe more important than what’s seen

Four:    Growth continues, four becoming more stable
Our plant stands tall and firm, the legs on a table

Lesson: Growth comes slowly at first. The more growth, the more stable, with nourishment

Five:     This odd number divided by one and itself, prime
Aesthetically pleasing may grow bigger in time

Lesson: There are basics, shelter, nourishment, love, which we need to grow

Six:      A half dozen, though not the baker’s dozen of the suit
Still your plant is showing blossoms which precede fruit

Lesson: Be vigilant. When life holds the most promise of growth it’s also the most fragile

Seven:  More than halfway home time to think of opposites, red on black
May put your growth in danger, so the cards you must restack

Lesson: Life is comprised of opposites, light/dark, on/off, though neither one alone is enough

Eight:   Eight hearts will begin to bring your growth toward home
Though will not prove best for all, but certainly for some

Lesson: Get to know yourself. Everything is not right for everyone.

Nine:    Nine seems a magical number, marching three by three
Ever closer you feel, so close that you want to go on a spree

Lesson: The game, life is not over. Don’t celebrate or give up too early

Ten:     Even though this card leads to the faces, don’t crow too soon
Hearts represent all that is good, but can’t grant every boon

Jack:     He’s both a knave and champion, a brave knight leading the way
He bows for the King and Queen, defending their entrance today

Lesson: No matter how much we know, how much we have, we cannot succeed alone

Queen: This queen of hearts, they say, made tarts, and she is a lovely lass
If you find her smiling face, you hope she’ll let the king pass

Lesson: Powerful people, no matter how winsome or wealthy, may not help you. Be prepared to find a way

King:    You’ve reached the top, the lord of all, and really where you started
So return to the beginning, plant the seed, open-handed, openhearted

Lesson: All things, matter, life, unknowable futures contain both their beginning and their ending