<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">Looking Into the Heart of God</span></div><p class="ydp6bd6d407MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">There’s this girl over here, she’s heading down to skid row</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">She fell down on her rent and now she’s on her knees —</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">her beau says he’ll keep her safe in his car — for now</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">but only if....</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">She’s looking for work — “Anything will do — I want to pay</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">back the loan — I’ll make it good. I just want to do my</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">laundry so I can look for a job. Can you help me?”</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">I meet her at the laundromat, give her a leather coat with</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">$40 in the pocket and a note — “Call me if you’re not safe.”</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><p class="ydp6bd6d407MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">A man calls me on the phone — he wants a bonsai —</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">“It needs to be either an azalea or a crabapple,” he says.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">“I have both,” I say — “How big? How much? Will you ship?</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">“I need it for Christmas — to give to my daughter — She’s </span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">Thirteen. I was thirteen when I started with bonsai.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">Do you understand?” “The trees choose us,” I say.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">“I understand.” I understand you are dying. </span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">I understand it’s her dowry. I understand you love her.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><p class="ydp6bd6d407MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""> </span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">These are my days now. I watch them unfold like</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">petals on a flower. In the morning I pray —</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">“How can I help You today?” Then I watch what comes</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">across my path — I’m here to notice things — people</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">mostly — and pay attention. I notice with the eyes of God.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">She’s Russian — the perfectly modulated speech does not hide</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">the vestiges of learning to speak in her native tongue.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">He’s Oklahoman — or Texan — politeness rolls off the tongue</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">like music. How did he start in bonsai? I forget to ask —</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">entranced by the vision of a young boy on a quest...</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">The tree fits perfectly in the shipping container. The</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">weather will be mild for two days — it must </span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">travel on land because trees can’t fly — there’s not enough air</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">for their wings to float....</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">My days are pierced by the sound of quiet wind breathing</span></div><p class="ydp6bd6d407MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">through the trees. The birds alight on their tiny boughs.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class="">They are happy to be here. The trees are singing.</span><span style="color: rgb(29, 34, 40);" class=""></span></div><p class="ydp6bd6d407MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Lucy Davenport</div></div></body></html>