10,000 Small Deaths

Photo by Jodie Righos on Unsplash

A Poem by Jason Fullerton

Versions of lives lived, dropped in,
Covering from the harsh sun,
Burning at the surface, exposed,
Revealing the inadequate
Depths lacking decomposed death.

That matter that transforms,
Ten thousand seeds of change
Upon the fallow ground in need,
Of turning over into new
Work upon the heart wrapped tightly

As stone stratifying in the winter of life’s discontent,
Wrestling to emerge from the womb,
Aching with hope of lives already
And not yet, appearing to the mourning
Dawn moving over the ridge of blue—

Time flees from painful emergence
From past neglect, compacting
Feet on the throat of ten thousand,
Meaningless and full actions
Laid to rest in the abyss,

Awaiting the clear call of the voice—
Not practicing, mastering
Resurrection.

Jason Fullerton is a child of God, husband of 16 years, father to 3 beautiful children who drive him to the brink of insanity and boundless joy each and every day, and a recently soil baptized farmer working hard to make the world a better tasting, greener, and healthier space for all of humanity. He is a kid at heart who loves to dance, sing unabashedly, and play with the worms in the dirt, as long as his aging body will keep up with him. A mad farmer who will never become predictable in word or deed, nor be a participant and vocal supporter of the status quo, only of what is loving and good to those at the margins.