God
is a breath in the soul.
And life,
an upswelling of a presence
that spreads out in us
as yeast expanding in the sun.
When I say I wish you love,
I mean I wish you God,
in all the many manifestations
that God arrives,
rises up in you.
That you might taste the bread
of which you’re made.
Which brings your tongue
to a sweet hunger
and wanting for more.
That you are already bearing God
as a seed, a sacred word,
a precious taonga
to the world,
is the beauty of the truth
of the earth,
of Papatuanuku,
whose children we are.
God is a breath in the soul,
the wind that blows
upon the fields,
and the sun that stirs to life.
God, who is both seed and tree,
yeast and bread,
author and word.
The Both / And
already present in creation,
but ever waiting for us to bear him forth
into life,
as though we were his most holy means
of revelation—
her chosen expression.
The parchment
for the unfolding Word,
and God’s handwriting,
integral to his unveiling.
That today I wish you love,
that tomorrow God may grow in you.
Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
August 2021
Living Tree Poetry 