Ivy and Oak and Other Poems

by Abbi Bodager

IVY AND OAK

I. Ivy 

Her gray, lonesome 

body snakes through soil 

and up wire.  

She bends, spins, 

ever-expanding—

veiny hands reaching 

pleadingly 

toward

the  

Heavens. 

II. Oak 

Woven in— 

like a swatch stitched  

into a quilt of shimmering green. 

I find rest beneath ancient boughs, 

joy in being one small bud  

amidst a community of life. 

III.  

“…and you, although a wild olive shoot,  

were grafted in among the others  

and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree…” 

- Romans 11:17 (New Living Translation) 

THE GARDENER

Some days I feel unworthy of His shears. 

Lord, go trim the spotless magnolia, 

the lily in her Sunday blouse. 

I have hopes for you. 

I sigh. If only I’d had time 

to prepare for His coming— 

to conceal my wilted parts  

and perhaps hunch behind 

the hydrangea’s vivid blooms.  

But as He kneels, 

there is a real kindness in His eyes. 

Almost as if He finds me 

lovely.  

And so, I spread my trembling arms, 

offering my body 

so that He might draw  

beauty out of me.  

ABBI BODAGER

Abbi Bodager has been published in the Solitary Daisy and Grit & Grace Christian Literary Magazine, among other places. She recently participated in the Solum Literary Press mentorship program. You can read more of her work by visiting her Substack, heavens declare.