Question and Answer
by Theodora Goss

When I’m not at all sure why I’m doing what I do,
I ask my Lady, and she says, because I told you to.

Just as I tell the crocuses to push up out of the ground,
or the tulips to open their petals, or the sun
to come out from behind a cloud and shine on the water
so light dances on the waves — look, can you see them?

Just as I tell the oak trees to grow, or the snow
to melt, or the birds to return after winter.
Like them, you sing the song that you’ve been given.

You’re doing what I told you: let that be enough,
let that be your answer. Now go dance on the water,
perch in a tree or push up out of the ground,
open your petals to the sun. Go sing your song.

(The illustration is A Birthday by Emma Florence Harrison.)