THE ROSE
a poem, spring tips, and a song for Earth Day 2020
SOME ROSES ARE WHITE
AND, LEFT UNCHECKED, WILL SMOTHER
TORN FLAG ON A LIMB
The Rose
Once, wild rose grew thick along the forest edge surrounding a five-acre field. Though lovely, the rose eventually made moving through the area, if at all reasonable, very difficult and painful. Spring is a time for pruning that which when left unchecked may grow thick enough to overwhelm us by summer.
Spring is also a fragile time. The birthing time when new growth is tender and babes most vulnerable. If we keep a yard or garden, it’s helpful to pull ‘weeds’ and let the grass grow. Flowers, insects, and more will reciprocate with all their glory.
In every season, it’s important to reserve time for pure pleasure as we tend the roses of our lives. The current viral pandemic reminds us that we really don’t know when we’ll lose the chance. Following is recording of The Rose for everyone who is losing someone they can’t stand to lose.
Let’s cure long-lived inequalities with compassionate policies.
THE ROSE; Words and music by Amanda McBroom, copyright 1977 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. as published in Worship In Song: A Friends Hymnal, Witnessing To Our Testimonies—Care For One Another (313-335).