Words: By Dr. Karen An-Hwei Lee, Provost and Professor of English
Photos: Brittney Dunn ’09
Let us say a benediction for the jacarandas aflame in the city
where we once lived, the disheveled blossoms igniting our souls
with soft lavender. Bless the jacarandas, shedding as the wind
blows our woes seaward to Catalina, skimming the fog
wafting back to the roads where street-sweepers brush up pods
in a late season. Our quarantine will explode into bloom,
bear fruit again in due time, adorned with the blue plumes
of invisible promises yielding solace in despair, skyward
like a psalmist: For I have said, mercy shall be built up forever;
you will establish your faithfulness in the heavens. Amen.