This project documents the full year-long cycle of the Sacred Lotus — Nelumbo nucifera — growing in the waters of an old mill waterworks near Hamilton, Rhode Island. From the cup-shaped leaves rising above the surface in early summer, through the daily rhythm of opening and closing blossoms, to the seed pods that dry and sink each fall: these photographs trace the complete arc of one of the world’s most ancient and revered flowers. Monochrome enhances the meditative quality of the images.