A lovely description of burgeoning vines, building momentum to burst into leaf. I particularly like the presence of a guardian angel standing by each leaf to help it grow. And note what is tucked away in the heart of each bud.

‘In each of these rose-green buds the unripe clusters, the mature grapes and the new wine gathered momentum to burst forth; and still deeper, in the heart of each bud, were the songs of men.  A guardian angel stood by each leaf and helped it grow.  You thought the first days of creation were returning when each word of God which fell upon the freshly-turned soil was full of trees, wild-flowers and greenery.’

Source: Nikos Kazantzakis, The Last Temptation, trans. P.A. Bien (London: Faber and Faber, 1983), p. 411

Photo credit: Vincent van Zalinge at unsplash.com