A Sonnet for Ash Wednesday—Malcolm Guite
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Ash Wednesday
by Malcolm Guite
Receive this cross of ash upon your brow, Brought from the burning of Palm Sunday’s cross. The forests of the world are burning now And you make late repentance for the loss. But all the trees of God would clap their hands The very stones themselves would shout and sing If you could covenant to love these lands And recognise in Christ their Lord and king. He sees the slow destruction of those trees, He weeps to see the ancient places burn, And still you make what purchases you please, And still to dust and ashes you return. But Hope could rise from ashes even now Beginning with this sign upon your brow.
Reprinted with permission from the author.
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Photo by Adrien Olichon on Unsplash
Firstly, I cherish and want to preserve forests of the world where neglect and mismanagement have decimated the beautiful landscape. It is our sacred trust to steward them well. Though every picture of words is incomplete, I think Malcolm mourns secondary sins of practice at the expense of mourning the primary sin of rejecting the Son of God. I fear his sadness for the losing of forests has eclipsed the greater sadness for the losing of souls of men and women. Just a thought. Not a call to arms -except for embracing in loving dialogue.