Lenten Journal, Day 7

There are leaves
Littering my yard
The moldering detritus of fall
Disturbed dancing in an insistent zephyr
Crumbling into dust
Blowing away
In the Wind moving across the surface
The oranges and golds in which
They once were dressed long gone
The beiges of their nude undergarments bared
Their dusty echoes fading
They have lain thus
Blanketed by snow
Overwintering unseen
Under untrustworthy white
As my sorrows and sins
Have slumbered ‘neath
The eagerness of Advent
The joy of Nativity
The surprise of Epiphany
But spring has come
Lent warmed by burnt palms
Melting prior seasons’ deceits
Baring the moldering detritus of life’s mistakes
Blowing it away crumbling
A streak of ash dancing
“You are dust…” it sings
“You are dust…”
“You are dust…”
Its dusty echo fades
“You are dust…”
“You are…”
“You…”
And a Voice answers
“You are my friends!”

– Lenten Leaves, C. Eric Funston, 13 March 2019