Photo taken by contributor Jacque who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ADHD. She is a graphic designer, wife, and mother to two boys. She is learning to draw from God’s strength to get her through every day. She has also found art and music to be great healers and outlets for the soul.

About this photo: “I’ve been enjoying writing poems. Something I used to do in the past. I’m finding it quite therapeutic and a new challenge for my mind. Playing with words as well as my photography has been a fun way to express myself in a way I find hard to do in real life.

Hope you enjoy reading about my latest therapy session spent with my favorite tree…

You give me shelter

Your strong limbs out stretched far and wide
Covering me from today’s harsh rays

Your strong thick trunk tells of tales long ago
Oh so many storms you’ve weathered
Broken branches by winds tossing them too and fro

The initials carved deep into your trunk
Speak of those united beneath your leaves
Spellbound with love they just had to declare

You give me shelter
Your canopy my umbrella from the falling rain
Keeping me dry as the spring showers pass

Your fruit provides food for critters running to and fro
Frantically gathering nuts that have fallen on the ground below

Your large leaves once faded
Give warmth to those building their nests
Homes now fully insulated for their long winter rest

When limbs fall off from decay
Or the wrath of summer storms break them from your trunk
Your wood provides warmth for glowing campfires that light up the night

Strong roots run deep in the ground on which I walk
A testament of your foundation on which you call your home

As I turn to drive away from a lovely day spent with you
I look back once more to see your silhouette
Your bold beauty in the foreground of a setting orange sun

I love to be with you through all four seasons that pass
And wish you may grow stronger in time each coming year

No other tree on earth is just like you I must declare
Your example shows us the richness of a life lived to its fullest

I’ll proudly follow the lessons taught from my favorite Tall and Mighty Oak.”

Find more from Jacque at her blog.

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