Karl von Tettenborn – Third Prize

Karl von Tettenborn is a part-time writer and full time Coffee Master with Starbucks living in Victoria, British Columbia. He has a BA in English from U of C and studied creative writing at RDC. A husband and father, Karl has learned to cherish the quiet moments in life when he can slow down and actually put pen to paper!

Potter’s Clay

The Mount of Olives,
from where you ascended and shall return in glory,
trembles at your feet.

The mighty Jordan,
its course carved by your hands at the Beginning,
flows without limit at your will alone.

The glorious Sun,
which you spoke into existence from Nothingness,
burns the horizon faithfully at your command.

Yet you formed this heart of common clay,
fragile and weak though it is,
raised it from the dust of the earth,
placed it on your potter’s wheel
and traced its curvature faithfully.

You gave it
more strength than mountains,
more power than rivers,
more infiniteness than stars,
and set it free to make its way.

But there are cracks in the clay,
for it hardens as it dries.
It would shatter beyond ruin
if not for the faithful repairs
of your hands and tears.
The mightiest of creations,
yet so easily weakened,
this heart you formed
of potter’s clay.