Don’t wait for the perfect.
Life is here right now.
Shadows and light,
the losses and the gains
make a rich fabric of our days.
Depth discerned by a light in the dark,
that we hold like a lantern
and pick our way.
The shadows across the river’s face
give a hue I would never see,
if all were bright.
Greens that mirror a changing sky.
Rich shades reflecting
filtered light.
And the Monarch Butterfly
that flicks its wings
so fleetingly across my vision;
Its colour stands out
in greater clarity
for the darkness of its edge.
Don’t wait for the perfect.
We’re all too afraid we’ll miss it
if we close our eyes and blink.
Oh but we won’t,
for it comes disguised in the grey,
to which we just need be present.
Ana Lisa de Jong
July 2017
‘And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness–secret riches.’
Isaiah 45:3
Living Tree Poetry 