Rose grey sweater
Getting up at 6:30 in the early morning, I started to arrange my wardrobe. I found my rose grey sweater. It reminded me of the novel The Thorn Bird.
I first read The Thorn Bird a decade ago and then watched the series for a couple of times. It was about a romantic love story between Meggie and Father Ralph. Meggie, the only daughter in Cleary family, was barely paid attention. Father Ralph was like a mentor, a friend to Meggie. Father Ralph was a very ambitious priest. His love and devotion to church and God were so dominant that he ignored his deep love to Meggie. They first realized their love at Meggie’s social debut in a party when she wore a rose grey dress. Ralph was surprised to find that Meggie had turned out to be a pretty young lady, whose beauty had been unnoticed for such a long time. It was at that party that both people and themselves realized their intimate relationship. However, Ralph restrained his passion for her. He still loved his career more. Meggie, the pity girl, tried to divert her love to her hubby, who looked like Ralph, which had eventually been proved to be a big failure. No one could substitute Ralph’s prominent position in Meggie’s heart. At Ralph’s side, he knew he loved Meggie, but he was also loyal to his career. For instance, a bookmark made from a dry rose was always preciously enshrined in his Bible. Whenever he met little girls in religious ceremonies, he would not resist thinking of Meggie. Love and missing between them also became the pain, which tortured their hearts. Finally, he followed his heart to confess that he loved Meggie with as great a passion as he served the Church despite his aspirations to be the perfect priest. Bearing his baby, Meggie felt like she owned him forever. Unforunately, like Meggie’s mother said, her son was what Meggie stole from God, she had to give back. Dane, her son, who was her hope in her life, drowned. Was God selfish? Why could not God have mercy on her and her love? Was the love between Meggie and Ralph wrong?
Because of this touching novel, I started to love the color of rose grey. Whenever I wear my rose grey sweater, I can’t stop thinking of this love story, of Meggie’s persistent love to Ralph. She was like the thorn bird, pursuing and devoting her love in her whole life even if at the time when Ralph could not give his love to her. Women are thought to be slaves of love. However, What is true love? It is a very hard and tricky question. We may easily rule out what true love doesn’t look like. In this story, true love is persist, forgiveness, freedom and support. To me, love is as difficult as being loved. But still, I prefer this half-bitter half-sweet, half-joy, half-sorrow feeling. At least, someone is worth being loved, living in my heart. At least, there is a person that I would like to think, miss and love. Life is granted with receiving and losing. So does love. Trying to balance the receiving and the losing is actually our daily life.
THE THORN BIRDS
By Colleen McCullough
Long Ago, there was a bird to sing just once in its life.
From the moment it left its nest, it searched for a thorn tree.
It never rested until it found one.
Then it began to sing more sweetly
than any other creature on the face of the earth.
And singing, it impaled its breast on the longest, sharpest thorn.
But as it was dying, it rose above its own agony
to out-sing the lark and the nightingale.
The thorn bird pays its life for that one song
and the whole world stills to listen
and God, in His heaven smiles.
As its best was bought only at the cost of great pain.
Driven to the thorn, with no knowledge of the dying to come.
But when we press the thorn to our breast,
We know........
We understand.....
And still......we do it.
