This poem is taken from PN Review 222, Volume 41 Number 4, March - April 2015.
‘Pruning’ and Other Poems
Pruning
How is a sermon like an apple tree?
Well, both are like a poem, and all three
need wise and loving pruning till they shine.
Was there a light on Lazarus that discouraged
questioning? Or did he give an answer
so pared they thought he surely had forgotten?
Views
All points in the garden are viewpoints, some specially graced.
So are the minutes of the day. First – shake
your dreams and fold them neatly. Resurgent marble
still tingles with history; blended ease and ache.
Another – climbing the hill of your bed and scanning
the blessed, empty and untroubled seas.
Sit up, settle the pillows and stretch out
your legs, and breathe in deep the starry breeze.
...
How is a sermon like an apple tree?
Well, both are like a poem, and all three
need wise and loving pruning till they shine.
Was there a light on Lazarus that discouraged
questioning? Or did he give an answer
so pared they thought he surely had forgotten?
Views
All points in the garden are viewpoints, some specially graced.
So are the minutes of the day. First – shake
your dreams and fold them neatly. Resurgent marble
still tingles with history; blended ease and ache.
Another – climbing the hill of your bed and scanning
the blessed, empty and untroubled seas.
Sit up, settle the pillows and stretch out
your legs, and breathe in deep the starry breeze.
...
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