The Name
He is risen!
The Name
Dear God today when I find your blooms I will be sure to also seek the name, to discover its origins, what latin roots it roots its name in, what common way evolved, and why it is called the lenten rose, its early hybrid rainbow blooms ballooning from evergreen leaves some bright morning in the desert season, Jesus, what wilderness, I promise not to miss this gift— helleborus— poisonous kin of buttercups that bloom all year Lord, to know the name of a thing is to love it to be among it to save it I will explain unashamed to my child lilies by the doorstep— amaryllis belladonna— that lose their green foliage first then push out stems seasons later of fragrant light pink-white flowers we call ‘naked ladies’ this is after all how we ought to be reaching for the word the name the Lord, naked, bold the way Mary Magdalene sought the one who loved a whore before she was reborn Mary reformed prostitute thought the risen You a gardener.
(Originally published in Reformed Journal.)