And God Called It Grit

Fortitude is the part of hope that will not let go. 

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness,
and hidden riches of secret places . . . 
— Isaiah 45:3, KJV

And God Called It Grit

I long to be peony or hydrangea    perhaps a one-day lily

all that comes of digging & dividing     bulbs & tubers

water yes there will be water     wooing life    not existence

but growth    Lord    let there be flowers

flaunting full-blown faith    Even as sun steps back    drops

winter onto terra    Eden withers    leveled & mashed

faded mums    lay down hoary charm    beauty flatted into dirt

all that remains    a fiat for rake

and hoe    And listen to wind hiss    with furrowed brow &

folded hands    truth squalls upon every secret

stem exposed    decomposed    kingdoms collapse

under the weight    loathsome    forsaken

I think of you Lord     breathing over the rot    smutch

of me and path of muck     how a soul seeps deeper into the loam

and lies with fungi    taciturn & holy    slowly by slowly conceiving

sallow root tips as relatives    Who would favor these

with sugar but you    Lord Almighty

holding back the harrow as I braille through gloom

grasping for

the trailing threads of your heart

A note to the reader: In Susan Cowger’s poetry, extra spaces between words serve as the pauses that punctuation normally provides. Capital letters denote the beginning of a new sentence.

The featured image, “Glen Eyrie Oak Leaves in Autumn – 2023,” is courtesy of Lancia E. Smith and is used with her glad permission for Cultivating.

Susan Cowger

Poet and visual artist, Susan attends to image: water, sky, faces, flowers, and birds, oh the birds,
even rocks and pebbles, wherever beauty heals and anoints. Beauty ever provides when life feels
bereft. Susan has traveled to marvelous places worldwide and worked in Kenya with Spring of
Hope International. Now Susan and husband Dana live in Spokane WA. Married 47 years, they
have four children and 22 grandchildren (and yes, she finds that number rather shocking too).

susancowger.com