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.
