The Precious Seed
The Precious Seed
By: Jerome D. Matthews, Sr.
For: His daughter on her seventeenth birthday
There was a seed in the mist of weeds and thorns and snares
This seed was plain, nothing special or strange
There it remained until the day it was claimed a found
By a young man that fell and saw it while stooping down
He was not looking for nor had any need for seeds, but
The young man cupped his hand and plucked out of the weeds
A small seed, plain, nothing special or strange
Without knowledge or skill to mow or till
A chilling though brought fear to the lad
This seed has needs that he had not had nor has
He looked for soil tried and tested by those who toiled
Through depression of soul and spirit
But he did not know where it could be found
So he planted the seed in shallow ground
The seed grew and spouted, green and tender, soft and slender
A plant in shallow ground, a young man searching ‘til he found
That soil from days of old, from days long ago, a soil rich and true
Although he knew he did not know how to mow or till, but yet he still
Dug deep in dirt, he worked through hurt, through thorns and thistles
Until the plant was rooted and grounded in soil suited for wellness
The plant grew and spouted and grew huge flowers
With hues of blue and shades of red
With explosive bursts of lavender, green, and yellow
So much so the young one did not know how to contain himself
The sheer beauty had power to take breath
And make lapse of reason real and often
With shaky and scared shears he carefully pruned the plant
Knowing that he can’t possibly add to the spender of the sight that it was
Because of its tough environment he placed tents and shelters around it
He guarded the grounds that surrounded this treasure until he no longer could find
Neither Cage nor box that could contain the plant without causing pain to its membranes
The plant no longer enclosed to his surprise before his eyes grew to a tree
Whose roots ran deep and whose leaves reached high, higher than the lad could climb
The seed far surpassed his wildest dreams so he took his seat at the tree’s base
Determined to rest from his labors and bask in the tree’s shade