Leah McGhee
Some seeds can not sprout
unless they are burnt first.
There are lilies in South Africa
that wait for wildfires.
Fire lilies sprout in clusters of orange;
they require the smoke of a barren land
in order to bloom.
The confetti of ashes,
remnants of a dead party,
must stay to give life to the ground.
Some things can only grow
after they are hurt.
Lobsters must abandon their shells
to become stronger.
They leave themselves undefended,
their raw flesh out in the open.
Fragility is a necessary process.
Through hours of discomfort,
missing limbs return amended,
and a better shell is formed.
On days when I think of you and her,
of that night in October,
I think of them;
the seed, the lobster.
And my scars become a reminder
that I can mend myself again.
Words: Leah McGhee, Storehouse Content Team, @leahpatriciah