The Wisdom of Lilac

A poem

There’s nothing quite like
the therapy
of cutting old growth
in the early spring garden.

It seems counterintuitive 
to hack away the thick, 
old branches 
of my Miss Kim Lilac.

To the untrained eye
it might seem abrupt,
a stripping away of
the stable root and branch.

But I’ve learned that in order 
for new growth to thrive,
the old must be removed 
to let the sun reach the roots.

And only when our bright
and warm star finds its way
to that once dark place,
then the lilac bush thrives:

New growth,
new bud,
new blossom,
new life.

But you cannot take it all.
You must choose carefully
where to make the cuts
and what old growth to leave behind

or you risk
a sudden 
and avoidable 
end.

The wisdom of nature
is all around us
if only we stop 
to notice.