This old earth--good,
Well-watered, nurtured;
Well-loved, singing
Of devotion, duty,
Of labor consistently,
Diligently rendered,

With shallow, well-grassed
Polder ditches,
Moist, fertile, almost
Endless green, and
Fat black cattle, and
The scampering of lambs;

Thick limbed, well-pruned
Hedges, pears, and apples;
Great-plumed poplars,
Elegant graceful elms,
Scraggly truculent
Side-water willows.

Old earth--good earth,
Beloved and thankfully
Conducting the bounty
Of God to Man--yes
And Calvinisticly
Revealing us his Grace.

L. Hawkes
24 Sept. 06

09/24/2006

Author's Note: Gleaned from memories of the multiple bus rides from Utrecht Central to my bus top in Lopik--Summer 2006.

Posted on 09/25/2006
Copyright © 2024 Leonard M Hawkes