Living Tree Poetry

Meditate, on a flower, a candle,
the way the sun sends
its strip of light across the room.

Notice how the cat slinks
ever so nonchalantly,
reaching the light and settling down.

How he strokes his cloak
with his rough, pink tongue,
until it shines in the rays of his personal sun.

Be the cat.
And be the candle or the open window
seeking the breeze.

For a moment forgetting the world,
except for the world that has come
to find you here,

thinking and flailing even,
with all that perplexes and
saddens you.

Meditate on what is still here,
and has not changed.
That looks the same today as yesterday.

There are some things,
like the God who says he remains the same
throughout history

and into forever,
that are still worth believing in.
Precisely when the world is confusing.

And have faith now in this,
everything that doesn’t change remains.
So rest.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
August 2021