Flowering (sweet) almond tree (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One of my followers reminded me that April is Poetry Month and asked if I would be posting a poem before the end of the month. I thought that this one would be appropriate because we will soon be celebrating Earth Day. If you also get our e-newsletter, you see that it is the poem and reflection that we used in the one that went out today. I actually wrote the poem a few years ago for one of our general chapters. We were using the theme "And the almond tree blossomed." I'd been asked to write a poem describing the journey from seed to roots to stem, etc. Actually only a portion was used--I guess because it was too long. However, it remains one of my favorites because, somehow or other, there's always some part of it that hits home for me.
Think about the long journey from seed to plant—and remember that much of this journey takes place in the darkness underground. Yet we never think about the tiny seed being fearful! What about me? Can I put my trust in the God who knows every twist and turn of my life’s journey and whose great godly heart has loved me from all eternity?
God-love waits . . .
Holding deep within her rich and womb-like soil of
The promise of a newer day . . .
A vision for the seeds that dare the dark
And risk the journey
Tiny seed surrenders to the
Secure in knowing that
Does not need to fear,
To the whispered secrets of a
That her journey into
Begins with roots
That burrow in the
Nudged by nurturing
Drawn by unseen
Fragile newness moves
And with gentle pressure on the
Womb of Earth
The slender stem is born,
Embraced and welcomed by the
And holding promise in its hidden roots.
And promise comes,
Held fast within each tightly fashioned
Unfolded gently by the
And promise lives
In blossomed beauty that reflects its
And does not mourn the passing of its day
For blossoms born of
Know well their roots.
And God-love waits . . .
Ann Marie Slavin, OSF