Easter Eggs

 

 

                                                  1

 

 

                                                        We chased after Easter eggs

                                                            And now are other places,

                                                        Still pursuing latent dreams

                                                            That spur resultant races.

 

                                                        Without straw baskets given us

                                                            By mothers that approved,

                                                        Colored eggs would never pile up

                                                            And change to food.

 

                                                        Never could we eat them all.

                                                            The chocolate ones were first.

                                                        Then the jelly beans, and then

                                                            Water assuaged our thirst.

 

                                                        Easter had a rabbit hop

                                                            Before Christ’s blood became

                                                        Symbol for what rises up

                                                            For love, in heaven’s name.

 

                                                        But the nascent family feel

                                                            Of children in the grass

                                                        Stays, as a remainder, with

                                                            The unseen eggs we passed.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                          2

 

 

                                                        As we matured we slowed

                                                            And let other children see

                                                        The obvious and reachable,

                                                            And went after the few

 

                                                        That were barely visible

                                                            Or found by reaching in.

                                                        Last, we looked, and then received

                                                            The joy of hiding them.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                             3

 

 

                                                        The last egg too keenly hid

                                                            Would consummate the search

                                                        After we had hunted once,

                                                            And dressed and gone to church.

 

                                                        Christ as hairy Methodist had

                                                            Risen, and now we

                                                        Looked for that creative thrust,

                                                            One egg we could not see.

 

 

 

 

                                                          

                                                                         4

 

 

                                                        Crack an egg, decolor it

                                                            And leave resultant shell

                                                        As a vestige of a hunt –

                                                            Primordial, the spell:

 

                                                        The rituals of another time

                                                            When food that came for free

                                                        Was evidence the rolling Earth

                                                            Restored fertility.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                            5

 

 

                                                        Eggs undressed all look the same,

                                                            An ovoid white that’s soft,

                                                        Mashed by pate and swallowed dry;

                                                            Just colored shell has left

 

                                                        The evidence of rituals done,

                                                            Cohesive family games.

                                                        Add chocolate and sugar for

                                                            A star’s renascent beams.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                            6

 

 

                                                        Eggs were pretty, then deshelled;

                                                            Sex covered in green.

                                                        Fertility excites the life

                                                            Of those within the scene

 

                                                        That follow ancient rituals,

                                                            Embellish them with sweets,

                                                        And, family by family, hunt them

                                                            In lush retreats.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                            7

 

 

                                                        Retrospect is easier because

                                                            A cast of light

                                                        Has changed all the shadows.

                                                            We review the scene

 

                                                        Realigned by agencies

                                                            That make the worlds roll:

                                                        Nut was a star goddess

                                                            Inset in a blue bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

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