They Say a Hard Freeze Will Come

They say a hard freeze will come

An ending to this glorious week

When flowers burst through swelling bud

And miracles on miracles

Appeared before my awe-filled eyes.

The vivid azaleas colour the path,

Viburnum like dancers with pom-poms leap

From garden borders and the phlox

Cover with gaiety the earth.

A few magnolia blossoms cling

To branches breaking forth in leaves

But now has come the dogwood's hour.

I have read that Christ was crucified

On a cross made from the dogwood tree

And a spell was cast by God himself

That never again would its trunk grow

Large enough to hang a man.

Nature has her ways to teach

But we must learn to hear her voice

Outlasting death and fleeting time.