The Tree Of Life.

('Make a tree sound and its fruit will be sound; ...For the tree can be told by its fruit'. N.T. Matt.12: 33) . The lemon tree still stands alone outside my bedroom In a level weedless plot where it flourishes modestly Like a self-assured but lonely, independent person. At the moment the tree is producing abundant fruit. So that I am mixing lemon drinks again after a dry spell, Using hot water, with sugar and honey as sweeteners. My drinks, hot or cold, are not fizzy like the supermarkets' But still and true to nature, giving me a shot of energy. The tree has taken on a mandate to grow higher and wider So that it blocks out unwanted glare from security lights that tower like harsh beacons on the street outside: Now I sleep soundly in the onyx-stone darkness. When I wake up early each gloomy cold winter's morning, I draw back the curtains to see the changing yet constant citrus. -23/24 June,2017.