The Deciduous Human Being

author’s note:

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold...
           — Shakespeare, from “Sonnet 73”

To that I say: Wait and I'll be back.


THE DECIDUOUS HUMAN BEING

“Behold!  Behold!  Behold!”
The wise one told me:
“Look
 and you will feel

“the loving sacrifice
 made by that dark bed of dead leaves
 beneath the tree.

“Then look again
 and feel
 the little fist of green life
 struggling to break the shell of that acorn.

“Now look once more
 and feel—feel
 the branches straining upward
 as the tree strives to reach the sun.

“Behold!  Behold!  Behold!”

But when I tried to feel the life of the tree
as instructed
I felt my own life instead:

As I looked at those rotting leaves
I grieved for all sacrifices I’d made.
All those necessary deaths.

And as I examined that acorn
I again sensed the new life within me
struggling in labor to be born.

And when I saw
the top branches sighing for more
I felt my own desire
for a higher heaven.

Yes, the wise one wanted me to feel
the tremendous cycle of life
of those friends we call trees.
But I think she also hoped I’d find
that same life force inside
the deciduous human being I call “me”.

Listening to Silence: poetry book
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The Heroine Develops Her Belief System while Waiting for the Next Contraction

author’s note:

Short.


THE HEROINE DEVELOPS HER BELIEF SYSTEM WHILE WAITING FOR THE NEXT CONTRACTION

Kinda cruel
to push a child into
a world so cruel.
I suppose I was only thinking
of what I wanted for myself.

Well, too late now.

But at least I’m giving a soul
an opportunity to grow.

Yes, we will grow
as I help this visitor find ways
to deal with the madness of our planet.

mythsteps · The Heroine Develops Her Belief System while Waiting for the Next Contraction

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© 2022, Michael R. Patton