Broken branches lie on the ground
They were nipped off by yesterday’s wind
It combed hard through the winter forest
We all stayed away from the forest that day
To let the wind litter its danger from above
When calm returned the wind had done its work
The high forest waved soft and clean and green
In the early light of a quiet morning’s birth
While all the broken branches seemed satisfied
To lie still on the ground around their trees
I think these branches were never alive by themselves
But were the high-up pathways that life traveled within
As it longed to reach the sun, feel the clouds or hear birds
Until the wind broke them off and dropped them to the ground
Their needles still green and fragrant with life’s sweet breath
Summer birds will never notice the missing brittle branches
As they will perch and sing and nest on other branches
And life will find other pathways through its trees to travel
We will also make new pathways to walk along if we need to
