Red Oak Prayer

Red Oak

you were a

patient seedling 

who waited years for

a green door to open

 beyond a cobalt sky.

The fallen pine

offered you ‘the way.’ 

At last you shine!

Bittersweet orange

and scarlet,

oversized leaves

tenaciously holding on

when most others

 are withering away.

 Light winds,

 gifts of rain,

maple leaves 

and scented needles  

compost your future.

Deep roots meet with 

Pine People

Your friends I’m told,

fusing mycorrhizal threads

into complex patterns

that stretch across

the forest floor,

 All search for minerals:

nitrogen, phosphorous,

precious water too. 

Nourished, you thrive.

Not even insect

damaged leaves

can still your will to live.

I feel you

singing a love song

to the sun.

Eat all the light

you need during

this golden autumn

• before winter

slows your blood

and you fall asleep.

Dreaming Our Future.

 I hug you

with hungry eyes

wondering who

planted your seed.

Was it cached by

Squirrel or Jay?

From acorn to tree –

From DNA to Form.

Horizontal Gene Transfer?

Grow straight

and tall.

Leaf out, unfurl

 pointed fingers. 

 Deep verdant green is

  summer shade.

Come fall

the Oak Fields of Yore

will strengthen each limb

as you sleep,

 nurturing and protecting

the Wise Wo/Man

you already are.