Trees

Leaves and branches and roots
Plus all the other things we see
And hear or taste or smell or touch
All keep their secrets dark from me
I have never found a finished box

Leaves don’t last – you know
But they practice letting go
Then circle back to life somehow
After helping partnered branches see
The next good place they need to be

With help from leaves and roots
A branch can penetrate the world
It knows the ancient rules for trees
Those rules that keep us out
Still invite a simple gaze of ease

I wonder where their magic lives
I have seen it sparkle bright in sap
A juice that smiles to roots and leaves
Sun's warm breeze and summer hats

But roots that hold below the land
Can harbour lots of things
Some seem to last forever
Others renew each spring

I think we shouldn’t split it up
This tree is just a tree
Beneath its leaves and branches
Live things we’ll never see