Devotion Poem, the Black Dahlias
Devotion Poem, The Black Dahlias
This morning, for a time, you seemed
To have disappeared. I called out to you
From my bed, but the words
Must have been consumed into mute syllables,
For any answering voice, if there was one, was not yours.
I asked the angels to go search for you
And soon they found the traces of your footsteps
Entering into the valley of the black dahlias, where those
Flowers in that valley loom thick, and overlong in season.
You must have entered the black dahlias valley
With some fear, for I am certain you felt unsure
About the consequences of treading
On beauty — wouldn’t some measure of suffering
Follow such an act? And who,
But perhaps the Lord himself
Defines the scope of beauty and
Could mark any count of its maiming?
Did you soon regret your stepping away
And your quick journey into that valley?
Did you then pull up to a questioning halt — having as yet
Sacrificed nothing — and spun around
Wondering how to safely retreat?
The uncountable burgundy/black petals of the dahlias
So closely pack the valley, all their growing
Overlaps, eliminating any sight of the earth.
The black dahlias impressed their image over centuries as
Symbolic of beauty and betrayal, much as
Humanity has done in overseeing its charge of our planet...
And we set our eyes to scan for viable paths
To green, fertile plains anywhere surrounding.
We try to gently reverse and re-claim, to
Over-cross the further striking of beauty.
But, this requires acts of going forth — beyond
Just dreaming or wishing: in the work for now and
New generations of new seeing and clear actions.
Your own return from the valley of the black dahlias,
Struck both our souls. The peace of returning
And the acts of new creation are
As reconcilable as heaven’s full plan for all life here.
While for us, there is no parting, no leaving. Our love
Travels the full labyrinths of the imbued
Patterns of the cosmic kingdom.
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(C) sally Young eslinger10/15/2020
Thanks be to God!
Copyright ©
Sally Eslinger
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