Poem

God reached down


God reached down

He grabbed the shoulders of that tree

He shook and shook that tree

It's time to let go, He said

It's time to let go of the dead things

But the tree held on

The tree held on to the brown of the earth, gold of the sky

Jewels so red, fire so orange

The tree held on

God grabbed those shoulders and shook so hard the air made noise

Tree fingers shook in the wind

Danced like a ghost

Trembled and cried

The time had come

Time to let go of the dead things

The tree lost bits of the brown earth, pieces of the gold sky

Scattered the red jewels, shocked the orange fire

God reached down and shook some more

The shoulders bent under the will of God

Lost the last of the fire and jewels, the earth and sky

Until only the skeleton remained

Shocked by its nakedness, stark barren exposed

God reminded the tree

The buds were there, hidden waiting ready

For the time when God would reach down and unfurl those buds

For the time to embrace the live things

For the time would come.

❧

"God reached down" by Nina Roth Borromeo, ©2018