Wheat, Tares, Chaff

In the growing, in the harvest,

in the winnowing,

love is the only tool

Life’s circles, and life’s cycles

are respected —

the small rain on the tender herb,

the showers on the grass,

the tares and wheat, side by side

before the harvest,

letting life flow up

from sprout to blade,

from stalk to seed —

All things that are alive

are sheltered, hallowed.

In the time of harvest,

when the seed is finished

and the stalk is done

and the casings have performed

their vital work,

When everything except the seed

grows dry,

Then comes the winnowing

when chaff is blown away,

while all those life-kernels, 

protected and aided till they reached fruition,

remain —

Love’s masterwork:

encapsulated power of life

to rise again.

©Wendy Mulhern

July 10, 2014