Prayer of the Iris

Like the iris
in the side yard,
I have stopped blooming.
Dig me up, O Spirit,
and split me; where I have grown
calloused, break me open;
then drive me deeper
into darkness,
where I wait for you
to pull my yearning
to live fully
into the light;
then let me offer
my purple and gold freely
to all who pass by.

Carol Tyx teaches American literature at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.