Living Tree Poetry

I give up
all that isn’t me,
although tomorrow I know
I will try for it to be retrieved.

But for today,
I give up what isn’t mine to carry,
or feel the weight of upon my heart
as if my name were engraved.

Yes, today I give up all that attempts
to harness the mind,
and the spirit loosed
can then float as is meant.

Like the gliding on a river,
or as birds soaring on the air,
the currents of life
need our gracious bearing.

Heads held high,
eyes centered on what’s ours,
letting go the things
that God has never fashioned.

Yes, today I discard all that isn’t me.
And I find myself afresh
in the freedom
of its shedding.

As today I lay down the weights
that would hamper my rise,
and realise again
how close is heaven.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
February 2019