Three Poems – Randy Sutter

Eden’s Gardener

She was Eden’s gardener
From the dawn of the day,
With the morning dew
Lining the way.

Carrying the promise
Of what might yet be,
Holding the knowledge
Of the fruit of the tree.

The flower’s beauty
It blossoms, it blooms,
Through the moving of the sun,
The cycle of the moon.

Pedals are falling,
Blown by the wind,
A seed has its start
As the new day begins.

Tomorrow’s fruits
Hang on branches of today,
Grown by the love
That’s offered each day.

She was Eden’s gardener
From the dawn of the day,
Through all of time
Showing us the way.

Green Leaf

Leaves of orange, yellow, red,
Burn in trees just ahead.
A few have drifted to the lake,
From wind blown travel that they take.
The waning sun in cloudless sky,
Shines up from water, catches eye.
Reflecting scenes of farthest shore,
Reveals the beauty twice, once more.
Beneath the water’s flat, still calm,
The resting place of leaves who’ve fallen.
They may not be that easily be seen,
But trees bear witness that they’ve been.

On Being Remembered

I want to be remembered
Long after I die,
My friend said to me.
But really, what are the chances
Of that? I asked.
Once the people who
Knew you die, then what?
Does the headstone in a cemetery
With a few details constitute
Being remembered by
Some stranger who wanders past?
Or perhaps a distant, future relative
Who has an interest in genealogy?
If you want to be remembered,
Look to the rich brown of the earth.
It holds all once-living things.
And while we don’t know
Their names, and who or what
They were, we can appreciate
And remember them,
Maybe not individually, but collectively.
We return to where we came.
Then, it’s time to give back,
So others can have their turn.
If I’m remembered at all,
I’d like it to be that way.

Randy Sutter is a retired educator who writes poetry, performs as a bassist in various musical projects, and works in funeral services. In his spare time he hikes throughout the Hudson Valley.