Bonsai
Edith Tiempo

All that I love
I fold over once
And once again
And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post
Or in my shoe.

All that I love?
Why, yes, but for the moment-
And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps easy.
Son's note or Dad's one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a queen,
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.

It's utter sublimation,
A feat, this heart's control
Moment to moment
To scale all love down
To a cupped hand's size

Till seashells are broken pieces
From God's own bright teeth,
And life and love are real
Things you can run and
Breathless hand over
To the merest child.

Questions:
1. Who is the poetic persona of the poem?
2. What is that line in the first stanza that is repeated in the second? What is the difference in meaning between the two? Why is there a question mark?
3. We have the lines "Till seashells are broken pieces/From God's own bright teeth" in the last stanza. What does this imply? How does God show His great love? Can you cite evidences or stories that affirm His love?
4. How is love being portrayed in the poem? 5. In the third stanza, why do you think the speaker mentions that all love is to be scaled down? How do you scale down your love? Give examples.