POETRY              
 

July 2021. Christian Journal for Global Health 8(1)   
 

Burnout 

Reena Georgea 

a MD, DNB, FRCP Edin., Department of Continuing Medical Education, Christian Medical College Vellore, 
India 

Old Easter lilies, 
leaves wilting, 
when all around  
grass gleams, 
palms dapple, 
trees fruit. 
 
One morn,  
they were shorn, 
chopped, bruised,   
green things, burnt out. 
 
“How will they survive?” 
I asked the gardener. 
“The bread-winner leaves 
cannot work.” 
 
“The bulbs will grow,” 
He said. 
 
“Can bulbs grow 
without the leaves 
that fed them?” 

 
 
“The quiet womb 
of Mother Earth 
and safe sure arms 
of Father Heaven 
have food enough,” 
He said. 
 
Un-knowing, 
un-doing, 
just being, 
seasons passed 
in moons and stars. 
 
Then a brave shy flower, 
a babe in arms, 
heard the Light, 
smiled colors bright, and 
 
Christmas dawned 
on Easter morn. 

 
 

Peer Reviewed: Submitted 31 Jan 2021, accepted 19 Feb 2021, published 30 July 2021 
 
Competing Interests: None declared.     
 
Correspondence: Reena George, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. 
reena.vellore@gmail.com                    

 
Cite this article as: George R. Burnout. Christian Journal for Global Health. July 2021; 8(1):87. 
 
© Author. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons 
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any 
medium, provided the original author and source are properly cited. To view a copy of the 
license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

  

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	Old Easter lilies,
	One morn,
	“How will they survive?”
	I asked the gardener.
	“The bulbs will grow,”
	“The quiet womb
	Un-knowing,
	Then a brave shy flower,
	Christmas dawned