Tree House (a poem)

Tomorrow, my wife Jessica and I celebrate twenty years of marriage. Two decades sounds like a lot to me, but—doesn’t everyone say this?—it seems like it’s gone quickly. When we first got married, I wrote a poem for Jessica about how our love was in Spring, and I didn’t know what seasons would come, but with God’s help we would keep growing through them all. Twenty years—and many different seasons—later we’ve made our home in this growing love. That’s what this poem is about:

Tree House

When we stood at the altar
And promised forever
Our love was in Spring—
A new, growing thing
But newness can’t last
And the years hurry past
And a sapling cannot stay
A sapling
Through summers and autumns
(The passing years brought them)
And winters, and snows—
Our love slowly grows
Adding ring upon ring
Like a tree, expanding
For a strong, stable nest
Fit for singing, and rest
For a sheltering home
That is happy, and warm—
So let the storms come,
I don’t mind
There’s a song within me
In our home, in our tree
Since we promised “I do”
Sharing seasons with you
Is a joy that keeps growing
Forever