we cover up the roots
A poem by Lory Widmer Hess

we cover up the roots

we cover up
the roots
we shove them down deep
where no one can see them
we suffocate them
into silence
buried alive
they tell no tales

but that’s how the light
invades us
how it breathes
into the darkness
and communes
with rock and water
down where
the surface
is starting to crack

and one day
my roots will open
like a flower
surprised
by the sun underground
I won’t know any more
what is dirt
what is air
and my stuffed-shut mouth
will sing

About the Author:

Lory Widmer Hess lives with her family in Switzerland, where she works with adults with developmental disabilities and is in training as a spiritual director. Her book When Fragments Make a Whole: A Personal Journey Through Healing Stories in the Bible will be published by Floris Books in 2024. Visit her website at enterenchanted.com.

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