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The Forgiving Tree

by Bertram Sparagmos

I guard the forgiving tree
Solemn and dutiful

It's leaves are waxen and thick
To repel askance tears
So they may reach the earth and nourish the roots of knowing

The serpents of our petty vanity bring their venom
But here I am the longest and most agile adder
Pale and vicious
And their toxins cannot harm my resolve
When I guard
They will not crawl their bellies here

In the grove of our spite
I guard the forgiving tree

It's roots are herbaceous and thick
They grip the earth
To raise the trunk of purposeful solidarity

The wolves of our forlorn abandon stalk the grove
But here I am the deity lupine
Ten legs and eighteen gnashing maws
And their howl does not still my blood
When I guard
Their bones will fill my belly if they venture here

Along the meadow of our lost hope
I guard the forgiving tree

The trunk is beautifully crooked
Imperfect in ways that can only be made by the base elements of wonder
And from it grows the branches of understanding

The branches hold
The heavy, concupiscent fruit
Growing ripe
For the day when we have grown strong enough
To overcome ourselves
And meet here
To reach high
To eat of them and grow fat and ebullient with forgiveness
And our wolves and serpents trouble us no longer

Until then, I am soldierly virtue
The vernix of my creation still clings to my skin
I am born by the river of our tentative realizations

And I guard the forgiving tree

10/01/2012

Posted on 10/01/2012
Copyright © 2024 Bertram Sparagmos

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 10/07/12 at 05:02 AM

Excellent! Thought provoking...well written.

Posted by Tony Whitaker on 10/08/12 at 05:41 PM

If nothing else, I learned a great word - concupiscent. Brilliant piece!!

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