This year, there are no pears on the pear tree.
The tree, a gift from a friend
who claimed it was an apple tree,
has become squeezed
between the white pine
and the tulip poplar.
Perhaps the beams of sunshine
now filtered through the surrounding trees
are not enough to produce fruit.
Nonetheless, there are no pears.

William Blake says
we must learn to endure
the beams of love
pouring down on us.

I love the image
beams of love
showering us.

At times, we walk through life
surrounded by clouds,
sometimes even for days.

For an extended period,
the beams of love
may not find us in the shadows,
Like the pear tree,
We have stretches
When we bear no fruit