April Prayer
by Stuart Kestenbaum
Just before the green begins there is the hint of green
a blush of color, and the red buds thicken
the ends of the maple's branches and everything
is poised before the start of a new world,
which is really the same world
just moving forward from bud
to flower to blossom to fruit
to harvest to sweet sleep, and the roots
await the next signal, every signal
every call a miracle and the switchboard
is lighting up and the operators are
standing by in the pledge drive we've
all been listening to: Go make the call.
The switchboard metaphor is perfect. At some point it will look like every living thing has come alive again. I can hardly wait.
ReplyDeletei just listened to this five minutes ago on my writer's almanac podcast and tried to find it to add to my recovery blog tomorrow, along with Simon and Garfunckel's "April, Come She Will." Thought that would be a worthy blog to welcome April and Spring....thanks for posting Stuart's poem, and, the budding picture.....
ReplyDeletepeace and serenity,
Ken/prodigal returned
www.myrecoveryspace.com
Hi, Kate,
ReplyDeleteLove the poem. And I love the switchboard metaphor.
thanks for your comment on my blog. I didn't know you lived in Houston. When was that? My family has quite a long and deep connection to Houston.
Mom and Dad lived in Nacogdoches starting in 1989. I always fly into Houston and drive up 59 to go to their place. Dad died in 2002, and of course now Mom is in Chicago. I think this trip I just made may be my last to the region for a while....