I lie on your floor, Barber,
chin down, eye-level with
all your trimmings
so I can
crunch them in my fingers
before your gales sweep.
I know your tools:
auxin, ethylene,
the Word.
Can almost hear the
snip of abscission
before a petiole’s
brief penumbra
floats by,
while you shave your
shaggy ones down
to bones that
will carry them through
dark and cold until
spring when
you warm them,
and me,
to green again,
beloved.
.
Barber: A Poem about Preparation ©Cheryl Bostrom 2018
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/abscission :
In deciduous trees, an abscission zone, also called a separation zone, is formed at the base of the petiole. It is composed of a top layer that has cells with weak walls, and a bottom layer that expands in the autumn, breaking the weak walls of the cells in the top layer. This allows the leaf to be shed.
While researchers originally believed abscisic acid to be the hormone that stimulates abscission (for which the hormone was named), it was later proven that it does not play a primary role. In fact, auxin, a plant hormone, and ethylene have been implicated as prominent regulators of abscission signaling.
*****
#pnwoutdoors #watchingnatureseeinglife #godinnature #godandnature #christianpoetry #ruralliving #naturelessons
Fascinating! My botany days are long ago, and I’m not sure I ever learned this before – great metaphor, Cheryl!
Emily
LikeLike
Thanks, Emily. Such behind the scenes wonder!
LikeLike
Oh what a wonderful teaching this
morning. Thank you Cheryl. What a beautiful October we have experienced.
LikeLike
Hasn’t it been amazing? Thanks for reading.
LikeLike
Thank You Cheryl For Another Lesson of God’s Nature. I Had No Idea Of The Process. Joni
LikeLike
Am so thankful for world of fresh starts! Thanks for reading, Joni 🙂
LikeLike
Wow–beautiful, powerful, insightful. Thank you, Cheryl!
LikeLike
So glad it resonated with you, Janet. Thankful to have you watching Him with me.
LikeLike
Your photos and poetry and paragraph of explanation are a trinity of meaningful metaphor! Love it when creativity lines up in Threes.
LikeLike
He shows up like that, right? Beautiful Three in One. Love you, Donna.
LikeLike
Beautiful photos Cheryl and another lovely poem!
LikeLike
Thank you, Laura!
LikeLike