afterlife of trees

Musings

shaman in the corner

whether you’re on a sunset sail
standing in a waterfall
waiting to go on stage at the club
showering post waves at the beach

whether you’re cooking Italian
lecturing to a raccoon for littering
weeping for the wolves and wetlands
mastering pigeon pose in the park

whether you’re singing so big mammals thrive
yelling at the pelicans to guard the seas
swimming in a turtle-rich turquoise ocean
dancing on a deck
while full moon rises and heavy sun sets

keeping heaven on earth from becoming a memory
praying as if words will have an effect

from his corner
cross-legged the shaman nods
sits ready with a blessing pipe
sends out an approving ripple
hinting if you stay in motion
all might be made whole

meantime
while your body acts
as if it’s busy living forever
the shaman can no longer
hold back his one instruction:

mind your head
First appeared in the Sept, 2023 Issue of Sequoia Speaks

afterlife of trees

7/25/2024

6 Comments

I
after I tore off my roof on purpose
i built a stairway from the liberated rafters
milled out of the last giant cedars from the everglades

now they are treads
walked on tenderly until that distant day
they will be cremated to make electricity

small puffs of their windblown remains
will be inhaled by other generations
whose own liberated atoms will nourish the ground
perhaps enlivening future trees

II
in japan doctors prescribe forest bathing
to build bonds with the trunks and limbs
leaves and canopy in fair trade for undying wellness--
which the soul will keep enfolded well after time ends

color therapists join the fun
unravelling custom stress-relief shades
be they lime-khaki-jade-clover-kelly-olive-
emerald-mint-shamrock-fern-moss or sage
enough choices to make a self-contained green rainbow

III
before your judgy mind can stop you
become a planetary citizen
admit that you’ve fallen in fondness with a sabal palm

confess that you’ve hugged that ageless oak
into which your younger self carved a heart

divulge that you cried when your prized cypress fell over
in that storm punctuated by thunder and dizzying wind

knowing these moments eternally burn in your inner campfire
you—like trees—can translate sunlight into cool shade
rain attraction climate composure
and beyond even to your own forever-enriched behavior
in which these gifts shall live on
in human in earthly and especially in star-field
consciousness

This poem first appeared in Poetry in the Park: Nature of Place, an Anthology, 2024

6 Comments

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Musings