Petals Poem by Tom Courtney

And so
after gaining all the world
we shall lose each other?

We failed to heed the admonition:
putting our stores in earthly treasures
coveting our bodies and our minds
losing the spirit we shared?

When we had vowed
in the depths of our hearts
in the holy sanctuary
and before God and family
we shall part our company?

And become again
what we once were
not so very long ago -
strangers - only now
once lovers and dreamers?

We spoke the words
repeated so many times:
you and I for all eternity?
You and I?
We need another word for 'we'
We are not 'we' as once together
We are only you and I for time

Perhaps like petals
tossed before the winds
of the same flower
We bid the stem farewell
cast adrift and lost
amidst the tumbling rains

The petals fall
and find their resting place
They will some day find the soil rich and sweet
becoming part of it themselves
again

And even as the flower
finally melts into the sun
the old stalk turns
and falls to the side
the roots wither and turn to dust,

Another flower will come
and new petals will spring forth
again
there when the elements are right
as surely and inevitably they must be

As the meadow is large
and the sky is ever full