Poem by Sarah Bourns Crosby

to go to Sarah's blog Click on picture

The Darker the Dirt, the Richer the Soil

The darker the dirt, the richer the soil.

It’s true, I googled it—
The most nutrient rich soil is the inky black stuff
thick with manure and compost,
worms and decay.

And this?

This is where life is planted.

Seeds only grow in the dark,
buried deep, far
from the day’s light.

Spring only opens her eyes
After winter’s long,
long night.

A caterpillar forms wings
within the stillness of the cocoon.
A baby’s heart begins to beat
inside the silence of the womb.

Hibernation
Incubation
Gestation
Germination

All of these take place in the dark.

It would seem, then,
that darkness
is one of the key ingredients
for transformation.

Jesus Himself,
the Light of the World,
yielded to darkness.

In some of His most profound moments on earth
we find Him up late at night
awake before the dawn
calming grey stormy seas
praying in a dimly lit garden
hanging under a sunless sky on the cross
lying enclosed in the tomb.

Jesus knows darkness.

Jesus knows waiting.

And He waits
with us
in the dark.

Like seeds, He buries us,
in the inky soil of waiting.

And He says,

Unless a kernel of wheat
falls deep into the ground
breaks open,
and dies
it remains only a single seed.

But
If it waits
it will grow roots
And those roots,
they’ll produce shoots.

And those shoots will break ground
and they will bring forth
much
fruit.

But oh, the long wait
in the stillness of the soil
in the stillness of the soul.

When only then
you really know
just how slow
a seed grows.

And the waiting feels unending
And the questions don’t have answers
And it seems like nothing
is happening
at all.

Take heart.
There is so much more going on in the darkness
under the surface
than your eyes can see just yet.

You’re waiting today.
Your way seems dark.
You feel as though you are being buried
down in the deep.

Jesus is there too,
waiting with you.
In the dark night of the soul.

In the deep dark of the soil.

And sometimes,
He doesn’t turn on the light.
But always,
He is with us through the night.

And He says,
Dear one, there’s a depth that comes in the darkness
you can’t find any other way.
There’s a peace budding quietly within
that sustains you for today.

There’s a beauty hidden in the fog
if only you have eyes to see.
There’s a richness buried in the waiting
that only time reveals.

And perhaps, what feels like a burial
is more of a planting.
And perhaps, what seems like dying
will one day be resurrecting.

And perhaps, what looks like darkness
is simply the moment
before
the dawn.

First place winner for 2020 in the Poetry Category of the Evangelical Press Association.