Song for a Tree

Song For A Tree

You are the first.

Morning comes swiftly and inexorably
With coffee to dull the pain
And while the minutes are busy flashing by
Already resigned to the coming day
I pass beneath your branches
Green and swaying
Brilliant with leaves of fire
Or frosty
Lifeless
You’re not actually all that tall
For a tree
And your leaves aren’t very bright in the fall
When everything is busy dying
But that doesn’t really matter

If only I could understand what you’re saying
While my footsteps crunch on dead leaves
Downtrodden and slow
Or pound furiously on the packed snow
As I try to defeat time
Trees are blessed with a certain symmetry
An unending pattern of branches that
Defies human comprehension
Decked in leaves you whisper to me about the beauty of the world

I know it’s stupid
But sometimes I talk to you
Glimpsing the sky between your branches
Let me go
Let me go
Let me go
I plead to the silent corridor of steadfast trunks
Watching you
Sometimes I think that there’s an answer
In the strong worn lines
Of your trunk and branches
And the patterns of shade below
You are eternal
And I am fleeting
The way to peace is to find stillness inside

You are the last.

When I walk home
Your branches hang low before my eyes
Bare and grey
Or thin and trembling with weight of new leaves
Translucent in the sun
Trying to hold me back
Make the hurried rhythm of my feet slow
And even though lately I don’t listen much
You call out to me
In your voice without words
Come back
Come back
Come back

Come home.