The Color Green

Green.
Not forest green or blue green…
only spring green.
The green that follows the
long, dark winter.
Green
that allows you
finally
to take a deep breath in
without the burning cold
shivering lungs
or debilitating gray skies.
The kind of green that makes you reconsider your faith
reminding you that there is still a God
and like the green
slowly appearing on the trees
you are able to smile.
Green
is not just a color
but a hope.
Once it enters my eyes
it runs down my face
becoming a smell
that somehow
seeps into my soul.
It is a necessary reminder
after what has felt like an eternity of darkness
that just as the buds must struggle
to form on the trees
I too must struggle
to find my way back to the sunlight.
As a child
the falling leaves in autumn
the ones that
in an effort to save the tree
had lost their color
and finally
let go
were not a sign of beauty
I watched in confusion
as the others
oo’ed and ahh’ed
as the numerous colors
were spilled
upon the trees.
it was like a painter who had
just created a beautiful work of art
had dropped his paint pallet on the canvas
and in defeat
had walked away from the painting.
No, I did not see beauty
but death.
It was a sign of the inevitable
that the days would soon get shorter
and the night would take control.
This was my warning
that summer was fading
and snow would soon
cover my life.
Like a thick blanket
of wet cotton
it would envelop me
and leave me with nothing more
than the air to survive.
It would cloud my eyes
and weigh upon my feet.
it would drain all hope from me.
But
in the spring
God sends a gift.
Green.
It is as if someone has cut the blanket
that is suffocating me
removed the blinding cotton from my eyes
and has helped me to my feet.
It is the breath of life
from which my spirit can begin
to awaken.
Green is not just a color
but a feeling
a hope
a blessing.
Have you ever felt “green”
dance upon your soul
like the dance of a child?
Have you ever experienced
the release of
a thousand nights from
your spirit
just by the sight
of a budding tree?
My hope is this…
that you will be able to
take pleasure
in one of the many blessings
we are so often given
and yet
so easily
overlook.