planting moment

over the past few days
I have enjoyed many different sounds
filling our home

life sounds of unexpected
but so very welcome
guests
voice tones
foot sounds
rippling laughter
prayer moans
soaring worship

this afternoon seems very very quiet
and yet
I am loud inside
with the memory
of all these sounds

and it is good

every fall
I pull up and store the geraniums

it troubles me that we are so quick
to throw things away
once their usefulness is over

there are times
people are thrown away too
once they have served their purpose

I have learned through mistakes
that the plant must be uprooted for storage
when at its peak
before the late fall rains
or early winter snows

this afternoon
my memories and I
decided this is the moment
to re-plant the geraniums of last summer

all winter
hidden in the dark
in plain brown bags

and each spring
I am amazed
to see brilliantly colored flowers
tiny green shoots
budding leaves
all seemingly growing from something looking dead
in the dark

each branch has to be broken
off the main stem

great care must be taken
so as not to damage any tender new growth

sometimes I find a whole plant
very green
very lush
many flowers all blooming
looking perfect

it is only when tested under pressure
the trunk squeezed a bit
it is evident
there is rot within
disease in the root

and so
even though looking beautiful
it is a false picture of health
and must be destroyed
so as not to infect all the other plants

dead leaves must be pulled off
roots separated

each finger of the plant
is then pushed gently
into pots
freshly filled
with clean soil

and misted
only a little

then the floor has to be cleaned
I have to be cleaned
the excess dirt
and dead things
bagged and put outside

it is a messy job
as is life
getting down and dirty
in the soil of my own life
or another's life
uprooting
detaching
throwing out the rotten stuff
while taking care not to damage a new shoot

spring is coming

life is to be birthed

if you get close
and examine carefully
that which looks dead
more often than not
a little moment of life
can be found

if you grab it
to hold and own it
it will die

if you plant it
with tenderness
in the soil of hope
it will live