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A Pocketful of Seeds

Author(s):
Ann Fuller
Issue:
On Seeds (November 2023)
Department:
Inward Light

1. Cycle

I was born,

in Winter,

with a pocketful of seeds,

beans and basil,

onions and peas.

Was called by rain,

and Spring,

to dig, to plant, to tend,

beans and basil,

onions and peas.

Inhaled, imbibed, devoured

Summer’s

juicy crunch and scents,

beans and basil,

onions and peas.

Plucked and gathered,

in Autumn,

withered promises,

beans and basil,

onions and peas.

In my pocket seeds lie still,

wait for Spring again.

2. What Are These Seeds?

We are born

with a pocketful of seeds.

Dandelions that blow away?

Kernels of wheat to feed us?

Maybe crab grass, briars, and weeds,

or poppies to lighten our days.

Study them, choose which to tend?

Sow them, and see what comes up?

Offer them to a flock of birds?

Send them off to a seed bank preserve?

Or hide them under a bushel–

and die with empty pockets.

3. Affirmation

You were born

with a pocketful of seeds,

tiny packages

of possibility,

only waiting

for your hand

to scatter them

and watch them grow.

Ann Fuller is a member of Santa Monica Friends Meeting (PacYM).

memory legacy Hope

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