The Steadfast Arms of Love

Poem and photo by Pearl Roycroft

Envelope me in your orange sky

Hold me in your gentle arms

I want to feel your face against mine

Feel the dangling poinciana on my cheeks

Look up

Watch the red sun shadows dance

Through your swaying leaves 

You smell like honey, rich and clean 

But where is your voice?

You remind me of someone I know

an echo of the Creator

You’re here

I can touch you, hold you

I can press my face against you, and feel you near 

When I am sad I come to you 

Yet your arms lie still at your side

You never hold me

Don’t bend down to kiss me

Don’t whisper my name

Yet you always remain 

I know where I can find you 

scattered throughout the earth

You bear leaves for my shade

You hide me from the wind

You bring birds for my lullaby

Fruit for my healing 

Flowers for my grieving 

Wood for my shelter and home 

And seeds for life anew

I’ve danced in your falling leaves

And broken down in an ugly heap

I’ve stood and yelled at the wind

But no matter how much I try to hide

You see it all, and you never mind

Your roots sink below the ground

listening deep, listening to me

And when the earth is wet with my tears

You turn them into flower buds

growing up to the sun

Listen 

Here comes the summer rain 

Pouring over the mountains

It pounds on the door like a mighty flood

But I am safe, cocooned in your arms of love

This poem was written and inspired on Walmajarri land in a remote Aboriginal community of the Kimberly desert. To read more about my time there, visit my post vi, Desert dreaming (Remote Australia).

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Pearl Roycroft - Regular Contributor

A gardener by morning, napper by afternoon and hostess by night, Pearl considers herself the luckiest girl in the world. She is a cacao enthusiast from the Perth Hills, who lives with a pet bird, a close sister and many trees. Pearl has travelled to unique places around the globe and across the country in her red van, of which you can read about at Pitter Patter Paper. For love, she makes music. Check out her album Closing Doors on Bandcamp.