12. Take Root

"A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." Mark 4: 3-20

*****

Upon which me

will your seed--

your word--

fall on today?

Let me not be bitter

(at least for today)

or I'll crush it

between the teeth of my past failures

and spit it out

with sarcasm.

Let me not be faithless

(at least for today)

or I'll hastily build it

a shelter unequal

to the first winds of disappointments

or the punishing sun.

Let me not be worldly

(at least for today)

or I'll never clear the way

And its fragile tendrils

will be choked out by the briars

of my shallow deep-rooted desires.

God

(at least for today)

make mine a fertile heart.