In My Garden (Poetry by Arnolda Brenneman)

I’m roused from nocturnal slumber,

Awakened for the day that’s due;

My garden helps me to remember

All things good and lovely and true.

For I have an interior garden

In which I could stay for hours;

I behold the greenery, and then

Am romanced by the flowers;

I am cheered by an aviary;

Of birds that flit every way;

Entertaining me similarly,

Squirrels and rabbits at play.

In my garden is a waterfall

That can soothe a stricken soul,

I let the streams wash over all,

Until I find myself made whole;

Cleansed from soot of daily living;

Revived in the hour of failing strength;

Filled up so I can keep on giving;

With stamina for the journey’s length.

I rest among grasses, leaves and petals

And recline on a carpet of green;

The world inside me becomes all settled

And my landscape is a place serene.

My garden is heaven’s gateway;

It becomes my earthly paradise.

Here I read and write, sing and pray.

And listen and learn till I’m wise.

In my garden I find myself again;

I return to my center, my core;

And I know I’ll be all right when

I not only survive, but more;

That I can thrive, though the world dies

A thousand deaths every day;

For in my garden, I see with new eyes

What earth can not take away.

In my garden I’m revived to life

While I die to all I could never be;

I let go of that ceaseless strife

And find myself gloriously free.

Into bright realm of possibility

Am I birthed anew every day;

Thus forms my personality

In a grand mysterious way.

I tend my garden carefully

So it may flourish and grow;

For, that which is hidden within me

I want the whole world to know.

Arnolda Brenneman © 5-19-15