Tendrils of the Heart

A man I met once said to me, “Love does not fall down from the trees” A common expression from these parts When you search with your mind, and not with your heart. Love should be sought with the inner soul Not as frost bitten leaves, withered up with cold Neither rotten fruit, cruelly stabbed by blight Nor nuts that have ripened, then taken flight. I think love must grow out like a vine If the roots are strong, it proceeds to climb It entwines the heart, crushes trailing fears Then spreads and stretches with the years. I do not believe love lies upon the ground For we would spend our lives hanging upside down But if it grew along a vine It could grip and swing, with hands of time.