In the season of Advent, I watch

           As shadows lengthen

           As leaves go down in flames

           As the earth becomes wet and dark

           And moss and mushrooms come into bloom

I wait for Light to make an appearance

           For decay to give rise to new sprouts

           For death to deliver new being

           For the rotation of the earth to bring the morning sun into view

           And the orbit of earth to tilt us back to warmer months

I know that God’s Universe is cyclical and ever-changing

           That nothing in it lasts forever

           Not the loss and devastation

           Not the pain and suffering

           Not even the little vessel I call “me”

Advent is the Beginning

-Advent, by Kate Emerson Forrester