POEM OF THE MONTH

The Rise Of An April Leaf

_____Puckered,
_____Naked,
_____Grizzly,
_____Clenched,
Ugly as a newborn face;
Scared to let myself go:
And where can I go
Except towards death?
And what if I grow
In the wrong directions,
Abnormal or twisted,
And how do you do it anyway?
Thoughts crunpled,
Feelings crushed,
Perhaps I'm not even a leaf,
Just scared to stand out
From the crowded branches?
So what am I? - yellow?
Or just painfully shy
Soft virgin green,
Closed against the urging sun?
Do II have to do anything?
Will I just become - me?
Or do I have to force myself out?
Safer to sit tight;
But then I get scared
The rest of the branch
Which had seemed so wooden
Is unfolding faster;
Best to let go, then;
But what if my flower
Hardly out of bud
Gets pollinated?

The May blossom light
Of the still warm evening:
The birdsong high
Above distant traffic:
God become mild
And expansive, beaming:
The breathless wind:
All give their answer:
He who saves his dances
Will never be a dancer.

First published in Encounter April 1987
This poem is part of the Evolution sequence, which makes up Part 1 of Coming Home, King of Hearts Publications, 1991. Details on Purchase and Coming Home pages