The Story

In March, 2023, I released a painting and poem titled “A Silent Symphony,” all about the brave steps we take that change our lives forever. Since then, hundreds of women have written to share their own beautiful stories of courage. This series was, in part, inspired by the audacity of those women to first believe change was possible, and to then faithfully do the work of growing that belief into something real and lasting.

The Poem

A rustling like wind,

a force unseen is moving, 

a voice

gentle and clear, 

calling you forward. 

You look down and within

your hand now lies a seed,

the glimmer of a dream, 

and with it, a faint whisper,

“Come, and I will show you how to garden.”

Suddenly the world crystallizes into a before and after,

what was now at

war with what could be.

To accept the call is to walk into darkness

where failure lies waiting,

hungry to pull you under.

And in that moment, you see the audacity of hope.

It is the small light

that defies the demons of the dark,

making no promises of safety,

only posing the question, 

“But what if something magnificent happens?”

- Andrea Jacobsen Poetry

The Poem

The danger with belief is

it arms the small, 

the overlooked,

the insignificant,

with courage and audacity

to step forward against the impossible

with steady resolve that

to fail in the pursuit of what could be

is far preferable over the acceptance of what has been.

So with each step, 

belief plants a seed of hope, 

and with it,

laying just out of sight to the present,

a future garden grows

rich and full

changing the very earth in the process.

- Andrea Jacobsen Poetry

The Poem

It’s in the mundane,

the day after day,

the unseen slow work

of watering and waiting,

that the fruit tree grows her roots down deep. 

And season after season,

as the rose bush blooms in all her glory,

weeds of doubt and comparison 

taunt the tree,

demanding answers in the late summer sun.

But the gardener continues his watering, 

gently reminding the tree that

roots last longer than petals,

for it’s the audacity of the tree’s faithfulness 

to grow slow, 

one ring at a time,

that she becomes a pillar 

tall enough to host morning symphonies

and strong enough to last for centuries.

- Andrea Jacobsen Poetry

The Poem

I walk through the orchard and wonder,

How did this come to feed so many?

Suddenly I see it;

these are the ones who have been pruned,

not once

not twice

but a thousand times 

over a hundred different moments 

when the promise 

of comfort 

tempted them to settle, to give in, to give up.

It was in the rainy seasons,

the terrorizing storms

they were tested with a thunderous question,

“How many times will you dare to fight back?”

And time after time

they took the pounding of the rain

and watered their roots,

they accepted the pruning of their branches

so they could make room for more fruit,

and with pure audacity 

they grew

just a little bit taller.

- Andrea Jacobsen Poetry

The Poem

To grow a garden,

it will take all of you.

You must give 

your time,

your tears,

your weary hands

and your hope.

All must be planted,

first with the belief that new life will grow,

then faithfully watered

and painfully pruned.

And when your time has come,

and you fade into that last golden lap,

a field of flowers and a forest of trees will remain

covered in your finger prints,

blooming each spring

and singing each fall.

Yes, the audacity of love

is that it will convince you to grow a garden

for the those who will

never know the toil it took

to bask in the perfume of flowers.

- Andrea Jacobsen Poetry