A Prayer for Spring

by Cheryl Sarafin

A PRAYER FOR SPRING

Turtle dove

silent all winter

coos a song of vernal urges.

Our bodies warm

with more sun, and

red-wing trills again.

Spring unfolds, reminding us

we are in the here and not yet

of the kingdom --

heavy with our own intent,

arms outstretched with

one hand clinging to what was

one hand grasping for what will be

suspended in time

hanging from a cross of our own making.

Spring invites us to

taste the promise of renewal

but it does not

grant the fulfillment of our hopes.

When our dormant yearning for purpose

swells like a soaked seed,

help us to remember

we cannot force wisdom -

or rush what you are revealing to us.

Release us gently into your timeline

knowing,

in our budlike frailty,

we have your strength

upholding us

as we bloom.

CHERYL SARAFIN

Cheryl Sarafin is a wife, mom, and curriculum editor who lives in Indiana. As a poet, she draws inspiration for her writing from her faith and the beauty of nature. She composed her first poem about nature when she was six, and her love of poetry has never waned. Cheryl writes whenever she can.