From Red Apples To Clear Waters

FROM RED APPLES TO CLEAR RIVERS How stark is the vermillion And cardinal red of the apple Setting on the oakwood table, The last of its five-pound grouping, Still waiting to be chosen, although It is the full vision of a comfort Nature supplies, beyond any hoped-for Measure, for such times of hunger As these, when a muffin sits stale on the plate; When the water in our cups tastes metallic; When evening’s settling brings a tiredness That makes any try for hope almost too hard ...To reach out for sustenance while our Clothing hangs heavy; letters go unopened; The pages of worn prayerbooks last unturned; And , then, some vague, inner calling, too slight To find its whisper, comes up, perhaps felt In the position of a survival float, riding on a buoy, Gently bobbing atop the surface of a deeper river. Oh, Jesus, how utterly clear is the flowing Water and strikingly pearl white and silver-tipped Are the top current’ s bubbles, so fully Perceived by our soul’s eyes, Risen from their long nap to try, to go forth By the sustenance of a knowing all things Are made possible: living, believing, loving, Resurrection. **********. *************. ************ (c) Sally Young Eslinger