Seeds on Hard Ground

Many of you will have already read Tom Waits' poem: "Seeds on Hard Ground".  The full text of it is available here and I heartily recommend it.  It also serves as good spiritual reading in addition to being a fine poem in its own right.

Tom Waits published copies of the poem to raise money for the homeless in his area.  It speaks to his own experience of the problems of the very poor he has encountered; and their songs and stories.

But I found it a poignant reminder of my own work with the homeless in Montreal.  And it even speaks to me here in this tropical land, where the massive gap between rich and poor so sharply divides the haves and have-nots.

There are many messages that I appreciate.  One is the human need for growth, even in the worst conditions.  But the use of the biblical image is so perfect.  Tom Waits does not call the people hard ground, as Christ indicated in his explanation of the parable of the sower.  Tom Waits points out that the people are also the seeds. 

The poor are God's Word, being sown upon the earth in the hopes they will bear fruit in the charity of others.  But we, individuals and societies, are hard ground.  We do not listen to the Word of God beings spoken so clearly in the eyes of those in desperate and desolate need of our love, attention, and respect. 

A seed that cannot grow because of our hardness of heart is indeed a tragedy.  And it stirs us to soften and listen, so that the poor can find a place in our own hearts, and bear fruit.