Sonnet: A Sterile Person

I am a river-bed that’s dry for long; There was no rain in the mountains up-stream; Neither is there melting of snow, bird-song; Utterly shattered is my watery-dream. I am a barren desert formed from ground; My lips are parched as rains can never come; My verdure gone, men look at me dumbfound; A sea of sand, I cannot one welcome. I am a tree with leaves and no flowers; I am a tree with flowers, yet no fruit; I have not changed despite many showers; Oh, how I wish I could sever my root. But live I must despite my barren life! For my soul’s sake, suffer I must more strife. 7-1-2002 by Dr John Celes