Sunday, May 28, 2017

A vineyard


After Isaiah 5:1-7

Walking the vineyard at night
one can almost smell the grapes ripening
in vain, only the smells of the night
prevail, the smell
of darkness, the smell of dew,
the smell of moonlight touching the vines,
highlighting the tangles of branches
and stems. Only in daylight can one see
the ripening. Only in daylight
can one know which grape to test,
to taste, to feel the explosion of flavor.

The vineyard that was planted
is the vineyard turned bad.
the fruit is bad, unusable even
for poor, cheap wine. The ground is
cursed, producing only briers
and thorns. The vineyard
that was planted is the vineyard
unharvested, abandoned.


Photograph by Paul Brennan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

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