#55 Turning the Soil

Turning the Soil

This soil is hard and sour
no place for living things--
Yet living things would grow
despite all odds.
Stunted, spindly
starved for proper food
we reach and strive.

The soil has been degraded over time--
Fat promises run dry,
Earth’s patient bills come due.
Hatreds stirred by fears
yield searing flame and bitter ash,
A nightly dose of horror
blares out from our screens--
a culture drawn to shock
consumed by greed.
We do not thrive.

But things can change.
With patient work a soil can be renewed
rich life-supporting nutrients worked in--
tales of generosity, good news,
stories that renew our faith, give hope
allow cramped roots the space to move
reach out, take in good food
give strength to stem, leaf, flower.
With inner health restored,
in upright vigor, reaching toward the sun
the task is not so bleak--
To claim our common future,
do the work we get to do
when we’re alive.