Living Tree Poetry

Ah God, the great Unknown.

The closer we perceive you
the further you recede.

The Unknown that can’t be expressed
except through our constructs.

It is better than you remain unknown,
that you can be all we each imagine you to be.
And the answer to our intimate longings.

For what Creator God has not imagination
to express us, and to contain all our expressions.
And wildness to encompass our wildernesses.

Yes, that you allow us to love you as we are,
in the private cell of our hearts.
That you are the silent friend who listens,
and holds up a mirror,
that when we are looking for you
we see ourselves.

God, we are grateful.
That while we feel our way toward you,
and in the dark of our vision might despair,
you are behind us and tapping us gently
as a friend upon the shoulder.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
May 2021