Live, Still
by Alicia Hamilton
LIVE, STILL
A widow maker hangs outside my window,
a heavy branch cracked off
our strongest tree, suspended
by its brothers if for only one more winter.
Squirrels fling themselves through high and leafless branches.
Birds sing perched and throw their color
out from downy chests.
Against the dark, an anthem
throaty-sweet.
Ice encased the world, and I have sometimes
wondered, how long?
How long until this dead thing so precarious
crushes fertile earth and takes
its final fall between the row of birch and stony wall?
But life goes on persisting,
blooming—spring will come.
Flowers live and die, and I
unfold before my very eyes.
Cracked things cannot become the death of us
yet.
ALICIA HAMILTON
Alicia Hamilton is the author of Eternity in Our Hearts. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, where she spends her days discipling students, serving the teens at her local church, and drinking coffee on her back porch. She writes A Creative Connection, a monthly devotional where readers rest in the wonder of God, and The Writer’s Cottage, a newsletter community for Christian writers who want to develop their craft and belong to a community of creators. You can connect with Alicia on Instagram and look for her next book in late 2025.
Eternity in Our Hearts:
https://hosannarevival.com/collections/devotionals/products/eternity-in-our-hearts
A Creative Connection:
https://aliciahamilton.substack.com/
The Writer's Cottage: