Living Tree Poetry

Love is in the breaking
and the putting back together.
It is in the heart that hurts
and the ribs that protect;

and tether us together.

It is not as soft as we might believe.
Though it’s the most gentle thing
in earth and heaven.
It is the roots that anchor a tree,

and the leaves that move to the wind.

And we must move with love
to know that it expands;
even while its feet
stay attached to the ground.

Our hearts

have their ebb and flow.
Pain and joy, frustration, gratitude;
we live exposed: and at the mercy
of love’s demands.

Yes, if we are to understand at all,

we must see it as the seed that bursts.
For it is in the little deaths,
that we make it something else,
stronger still.

It evolves.

And we like the tree,
that in the summer blossom and fruit,
nurture and shelter;
in the winter sometimes must

stand alone.

Learning in leanness,
that life is fruitfulness;
the giving and the yielding,
the waiting and the receiving.

We can’t keep anything,

but must move with love,
which in its creative force,
won’t leave us where,
we might wish to remain.

It grows us to our heights.

It makes us drop our seeds
upon the ground.
It asks that we shed the shells
of ourselves,

to become the bread
that multiplies.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry

“The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a woman making bread.  She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast, until it permeates every part of the dough.”
Matthew 13:33

“The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds come and find shelter.”
Matthew 13:32

“Then he told the people to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves, and two fish,
looked up into the sky, and asked God’s blessing on the meal, then broke the loaves apart and gave them to the disciples to place before the people, and everyone ate until full.”
Matthew 14:19