All Is Worthy
All Is Worthy
I am ash;
I burn, I rage;
Warm first, and then
Consuming flame;
My hunger is
Too wild to claim.
I am nymph;
I pour, I flood;
White surface hides
A tide of mud;
A tree, thick bark,
Will bleed no blood.
I am mountain;
Hear me roar!
Praise me top,
Side, back, and fore,
Yet gold is wasted
In my core.
I am fog;
A milky cloud;
I tempt the brave,
I dare the proud;
But there’s no heart,
I’m just a shroud.
I am light;
I’m bright and good!
No shadows here
And nor there should:
I’d fear the threat
To my godhood.
Consumed they are
By their facade;
The mask, the veil:
The child, the rod.
They hold to strength
As if that’s God.
I am shadow;
I am weak;
The world’s conveyed
Between my beak;
And yet they never
Hear me speak.
The blackest embers start a seed.
The darkest waters farmland feed.
The stone is noble, even whole.
The cruel smoke still has a soul.
The light is priceless, even dim.
All is worthy, even sin.
—Amy Costello, April 2020
