Friday Poetry Blogging

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, some poetry from the Auld Sod:

Almighty God, Creator:
The morning is Yours, rising into fullness.
The summer is Yours, dipping into autumn.
Eternity is Yours, dipping into time.
The vibrant grasses, the scent of flowers,
the lichen on the rocks,
the tang of sea-weed.
But creation isn't enough.
Always in the beauty, the foreshadowing of decay
The lambs frolicking careless:
so soon to be led off to the slaughter.
Nature red and scarred as well as lush and green.
In the garden also:
always the thorn.
Creation is not enough.

Almighty God, Redeemer:
The sap of life in our bones and being is Yours,
lifting us to ecstasy.
But always in the beauty,
the tang of sin, in our consciences,
The dry lichen of sins long dead,
but seared upon our minds.
In the garden that is each of us,
always the thorn.

--The Rev. George F. McLeod