I didn’t realise this, but apparently our Prime Minister writes haiku and posts them on his blog:
http://hermanvanrompuy.typepad.com/haiku/
Rough translation of the most recent:
| Als de lente start
verrijzen de crocussen. Op weg naar Pasen. |
At spring’s beginning
Crocus flowers return to life. Easter is coming. |
I can’t reproduce the full sense of “verrijzen” (which normally means “resurrect”) in translation, but you get the idea.
It could be a slightly archaic use of ‘taken up’ because I’ve heard it used for come into (social) contact with and for to take someone under your wing.