Photo Steven Federle: Conflagration at Clear Lake, 2018
A voice said, “Cry aloud!”
and I said, “But what shall I cry?”
Shall I sing to the people
a song of spring,
hills aflame with green,
dry grass igniting
with joy?
In darker days,
when the high meadow fell fallow
and flowers of the valley
dried to dust,
I thought you’d turned
away, took your giving hands
to other lands.
Despairing, I wept,
stung by tears
from angry Hell,
and doubted
your love.
Oh, forgive me, pity your child
and make your enduring rain fall
on the riotous grass,
on the bold crocus
and passionate
rose.
Photo Brian Federle: On the Pacifica Path, 2014
As always this is well worth a few moments time. I especially like the second stanza, but what makes the poem is the ending: The asking for forgiveness within the context of rain falling on grass, a crocus, and a passionate rose. This says that you love and have responsibility for love.