“If you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.”
~ Matthew 13:29

It is not always so easy
to tell the good from the bad.
Many times it is just the way
we look at things that seems
to make the difference.
I think I am frugal,
another might see me as miserly;
an act may seem brave to me,
but you may think it is foolish.
Being always on time is
courtesy to me, but can be
considered compulsive by
the ones more relaxed.
What seems direct to one,
may sound rude to another.
Even honesty may appear cruel.
Is it generosity or wastefulness?
Helpfulness or meddling?

It is hard enough to
decide for myself,
much less should I
be tempted to pass
judgment on others.

Often only time will tell
what needs cultivating
and what needs to be pulled out.


“If You Pull Up the Weeds” comes from Edda Hackl’s volume “Living by the Word.”
All rights reserved.
Posted with kind permission of the poet.

Photo by Lisa Runnels


Poetry