“And How Great is His Joy In The Soul that Repenteth!”

Such aplomb like the oak and redwood
Teaches majesty in its greatest form—

But it is the olive tree,
The gnarled
And reaching-out
Filigree delicacy of its spirit
That plummets me
To my bony knees
Like glass bending to heat;
And seeping into my stiff-neckedness
Of too much knowledge
Fire!

I am anointed,
Sanctified,
Pressed from within; and
As I give of my unpurified oil,
He catches the droplets of dark liquid in
His cup
Like gold serum!