A cactus spread out, like a grand affair
Appearing to be such a prickly pear
Living in the heat of desert’s day
This is life, it knows no other way
Living where others wouldn’t dare
Growing without much effort or care
Time worn, rough on most every edge
Nature hoped to rob, beauty pledged
On the outside it is tough and strong
Covering a habitation of sweet song
In the midst of barren desert brown
It blooms forth a vibrant hopeful sound
Yet most failed to honor or recognize
The precious offering of life inside
In dismal places of death, it is life
Bearing fruit regardless of plight
Prepared for any who come its way
Needing sustenance in the heat of day
Its life, its purpose displayed, to unfold
A hedge of thorns protecting fruit of gold
Ready to feed, ready to freely give
Nourishment given so another might live
All that is life does not dwell in paradise
Nor come in forms of beauty to please the eye
Like one before, wearing a crown of thorns
Ridiculed, beaten, abused and torn
An unlikely choice in the place of death
Bearing the fruit of life, eternal breath
Fear not the desert, nor the heat of day
For some are lost along the way
You are clothed in a covering of thorns
A fountain for the traveler, tired and worn
An unlikely choice in a world of death
Bearer of God’s life, eternal breath.