Questions?

The raccoon lives his life knowing nothing

but the truth. The sycamore has no reason

to doubt the wind. The earth whirls all around

us and we become believers. The son refuses

to tell his parents the whole story. Why is it

the butcher asked forgiveness on his death bed?

We take for granted that our lives had a plan to

begin with, and soon learn that answers to our

questions demand a price to be paid. I cannot

say for sure what attracted me to red roses in the

first place. As a child I recall my father handing

my mother a bouquet of American Beauties on

Valentine’s day. Days later she sat my brothers

and me down to tell us she had filed for a divorce.

In a week’s time those roses withered, losing their

luster, and were thrown in the trash. As a child

I wondered, why do so many of our prayers go

unanswered? Why do red roses tell us lies?

Chris Hanch 11-18-17