There is no one in this world who has time
But God alone.
And therefore all flowers come to Him
And the least among the ants.

The forget-me-not asks Him for a stronger brilliance
In her blue eyes
And the ant asks Him for more strength
To grip the straw.
And the bees ask Him for a stronger victory song
Among the scarlet roses.

And God is present in everything.

When the old woman unexpectedly met her cat at the well
And the cat his mistress
The joy was great for both of them,
But greater still was their knowledge that
God had brought them together
And wished them this wonderful friendship
For fourteen years.

Meanwhile, a redstart flew out of the mountain ash by the well
Happy that God had not allowed the hunter to catch him.

But in a vague dream a little worm saw
How the crescent moon split his being into two:
One was nothing,
The other one was everything and God Himself.

Edith Sodergran  (1892—1923) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish poet and influenced many lyric poets. She is considered to be one of the greatest modern Swedish-language poets. Dying at the age of 31 of tuberculosis, she did not live to experience the world wide appreciation of her work.

As I’ve gotten older I find that I weep more easily. Does that explain why I am so touched by this poem? I like that that the flowers and ants and bees all ask God for favors, that the woman and her cat acknowledge the grace of their companionship; the gratitude of the redstart; the epiphany of the little worm. I have experienced all of these emotions and reactions to the Divine at various times and I like that these ‘human’ expressions are found throughout creation. The same love of life, the same divine spark in my heart is also in the worm and the bird and the star. Who is to say who is sitting at His right hand.  MT