To Live (a Golden Shovel)

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A Golden Shovel poem inspired by:

“There is only one question. How to love this world?

I think of her rising like a black and leafy ledge

to sharpen her claws against the silence of the trees”

From “Spring” by Mary Oliver

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To Live

By Monty Vern

There！

Where？Is?

Not! Only

One

Question.

How

To?

No. Why? Love?

Yes! In this

World?

I

Think.

Of

Her?

Yes. Falling in love? No, rising

In love like

A

Black

Pumpernickel. Slow and heavy? Yes. And?

Sprouting like a leafy

Vegetable in a sunny window garden’s ledge.

To

What end? To sharpen

Life’s knife! To feel her

Claws

Against

My skin. To draw out the

Cries from the silence.

To shake every last leaf off of

The

Trees.

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If you appreciated this golden shovel poem and want to give this creative technique a try, don’t miss the “Get Your Golden Shovel” collaborative project that is ongoing. Click here to link to the current prompt. Enjoy.

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Be well,

Monty

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