by Lois Rosenthal
The essay on beauty
looked down on a forest
full of rounded green shapes
and found them pleasing to the eye.
It said we love the trees in their beauty,
love the web of nature
that sustains them and relies on them.
It said their beauty draws us in
and makes us part of that web.
Nowhere did it say
how to protect ourselves
from the sight of beauty being consumed by flames,
how to keep the ghastly red image from burning
through our eyes straight through to the soul
reducing our sense of hope
to ashes.
Does anyone know?
If so please tell us
that we may again
believe in renewal.
Lois Rosenthal is a resident of Winthrop MA. Her educational background is in the physical sciences. At Temple Tifereth Israel Winthrop she has been a Hebrew School teacher, lay leader of services, and Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor. She is also a member of the local CREW chapter of MA Poetry Society.
