We are seekers
of stimulation, constant connection.
Restless, wanting creatures,
dissatisfied and desirous
of what we do not understand,
and cannot find.
So we keep looking,
and while seeking connection,
we cut off ties.
Those threads of gold spun by true attention,
we gravely risk
when we give of half our presence.
And nature’s boon
goes unreceived, though none
can compare with her gift.
And though she keeps giving,
we remain oblivious of the treasures
laid at our feet.
And the moment too, that we fail to see
because of the effort needed
to bring to fruition;
that moment goes away empty
and unlived,
a flame that’s never ignited.
So what can we do?
Other than ask for forgiveness.
What can we do to retrieve the present,
and restore the rich fabric
of life’s unfolding,
renew relationships and
stop our broken taps
from corroding.
We need put down our things,
our screens, and our pointless activities
that we think lead us to life.
And we need to stand like a piece
of clay and watch the moulding hand
make something of the gift of time.
We need to watch a sunset
and dawn give way to morning light.
Watch how the birds migrate.
How sand falls from open fingers.
We need to feel and touch and see
the life we would have not escape us.
And we need to watch ourselves
from inside out, not through a camera lens.
And find the rivers that run to fuel our souls.
And then we need to take
what we find
and share it with a hungry world.
Maybe then the forgiveness
we ask for forgetting we live in the
bubble of a miracle might be given to us.
And we might most of all find each other
and recognise something in each other’s eyes
to spark the wick of a slow building flame.
Ana Lisa de Jong
March 2018
Living Tree Poetry 