A Poem: Between Us

Don’t you know,
don’t we know
what lies in our hands.

A planet, round.
What we touch each,
resonating to the
other side.

Can you feel the tremble
of the green tree
in leaf,

from the wind that
passed by
on its turning circle.

A planet, round.
Where I stand
you kneel to feel,

and I am aware
of how the foliage
falling,

a discarded robe,
is collected up
and donned anew

in your
greening Spring
returning.

Don’t we know,
yes, don’t we see
what lies beating.

A land to have,
to hold, to cherish,
something shared.

Don’t we see
what lies solid,
a living being breathing,

held fast
between us,
this planet round,

that links your hand in mine.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
April 2020