Lineage
by Jaime Schaffer
LINEAGE
Oak leaves litter the ground.
Righteousness mimicked in a leaf shape
begging me to notice—
can’t help but notice.
The anthem of my life
echoed in a leaf shape,
inviting me to consider, comprehend, commiserate with,
insisting there is a message.
Like tea leaves of prophecy,
the oak leaves pave a path back home—
to a home, my home, a home not yet established.
So, I consider geography for the umpteenth time.
I comprehend nothing,
commiserating only with the truth
that the roots are strong,
deeply embedded in the bedrock,
holding fast.
Mighty oaks may fall
but the propagation of seedlings perpetuates life,
again and again and again.
The DNA of the mighty oak
forever copied and pasted
into the next generation of oaks.
A millennium per generation.
A season being a mere blink,
a brief sigh in the breath and breadth of an oak’s life,
shaping me with contours
hewed out by redemption.
Righteousness for a name.
A lamb for a house.
A savior for a kingdom.
And the oak leaves bear witness to it all.
JAIME SCHAFFER
Jaime Schaffer is a homeschooling mom of three boys, walking out a resurrected dream of writing poetry that helps usher in the New Creation.
Her newest endeavors include finding ways to collaborate with other artists and makers, taking risks, and trusting the sanctifying process of a wilderness season. Most of her time, however, is spent under the radar, raising a new generation of dreamers and co-creators with the support of a husband who never calls her ideas too crazy to pursue.