Ripening

From Ann Glover O’Dell’s Midwifing the Soul:

Ripening up we are

I say to friends

lamenting their advancing age.

And this I do believe:

tending our soul

as if it were the tree

planted center

in the garden

our most important task.

The sapling grows

but no label announces

name and climate zone

and when we can expect to flower

or fruit mature.

We give or withhold water

and sometimes perform pruning

to let the sun shine in.

We’re told to tend the tree

and if our tending

measures true

we grow our tree

‘til fruit delightful to the eye

from branches hang

and ripened to perfection

is gathered for the holy feast.

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