Hearts Aflutter Poem by Michael Burch

("This rainbow is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh."—Jehovah)

You are gentle now, and in your failing hour
how like the child you were, you seem again,
and smile as sadly as the girl, back then,
who held the sparrow with the mangled wing
close to her heart. (It marveled at your power
but would not mend.)And so the world renews
old vows it seemed to make: false promises
spring whispers, as if nothing perishes
that does not resurrect to wilder hues
like rainbows' eerie pacts we apprehend
but cannot fail to keep. Now in your eyes
I see the end of life that only dies
and does not care for bright, translucent lies.
Are tears so precious? These few, let us spend
together, as before, then lay to rest
these sparrows' hearts aflutter at each breast.