praying with lady hemlock

1
Lady Hemlock
come forth to me for I
am weary with the sound
of your needles
tinkling to the forest floor.
I am weary with this salt
clustered on my eyelashes.
Lady Hemlock
come forth to me for I
can not see truth through mysorrow
and You
have always brought me truth
when my back is pressed against your
body of bark and green lace and
thirsty root.

2
I am the Tree of Heaven
come to Earth
I am the Tree of Heaven
come to your call.
Lay your hands upon me
and come unto your True Spirit.
Lay your heart open to me
and come to know this
Love Beyond Words.
There is a balm for your sorrow
and it sleeps within you.
There is a miracle dancing wild
just beyond the edge of your vision.
Who might heed my voice and
open their hearts to me?
Who might behold my greened splendor
and proclaim
My Universe is theirs and
Their Universe is mine?
Who might dare to weave
their Spirit with mine
and thus begin
the transformation of their world?
Who might say that Love is indeed
the greatest power in the Universe
and Love me?
Give me a reason to stay.

3
My Lady of Green
Indeed you are the Tree of Heaven—
Indeed you are
a gift to us.
We ask your help in bringing
Heaven to Earth
Here and Now.
We ask you to stay
with us.
Lady Hemlock, forgive us.
We live in the illusion that
a great tide of loss sweeps before us
washing away any footpath of hope.
In this our darkest hour:
Give us a new vision.
Give us your vision.
Let our eyes behold all the wonders of Creation.
Give us your green
laced with light and dew
Give us your unquenchable thirst for
the water of the Spirit
the sap of your secrets
Let us be so thirsty
there is no room for doubt
in our hearts
there is only
A great and wild thrust downwards
as deep within ourselves we find
Water.

As an artist, writer, and mother of five, Stephanie Thomas Berry is a juggler of the sacred fires of hearth and creativity. Though sometimes a little burnt, she lives happily in Burnsville, North Carolina, cooling off in the Toe River as needed.