Morning by morning
we watch the dark brown skeleton of limbs and twigs
with shaggy bark and sap that shines.
All year round
this tree frames the sunrise
and holds the moon in its arms.
Today the yellow-green leaves come forth
in such profusion that they pull the branches earthward.
“I am the breeze that nurtures all things green,”
Hildegard of Bingen heard God say.
She reminds us to breathe deeply,
to let the Spirit draw us out
along with the leaves and blossoms
of this emerging springtime.
We grow as steadily as we can
joining with so many others
at work and at play
to outgrow our world’s violence.
We grow in light and healing and beauty,
reaching out to each other
with tender hearts,
everybody greening.