Living Tree Poetry

Is love a rule?

It is said that it is the one rule
containing all the others.
That it’s something we’re to put on,
rather than follow
in a straight line.

For the discerning
love is not a choice,
if life is to be the outcome.
More often love looks like a hard path,
with twists and turns.

It is seldom clear.
And love put on
is sometimes a hair shirt –
an irritant,
and an imposition.

And how do we know
who it is we are following.
Perhaps it’s that we’re not thinking
so much of ourselves,
or balancing on a rigid line.

Love is so encompassing
as to grow in circles.
Within which we,
by loving,
find ourselves.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
August 2020