Boughs of Renewal🍃🌱

Boughs of Renewal

Tree of ancient times cradle me in your boughs.
Let gentle breezes of past days hold me in place,
embraced steadfast by erstwhile lessons of yore.
For many a season you have proudly prevailed.

As I am rocked to sleep midst the green of leaves,
teach me of that which has allowed you to survive.
When fierce gales buffeted and your roots held,
you yielded the landscape a mantle of new growth.

Reveal to me your secrets of sustained life.
From one decade to another you’ve continued.
Wounds you bear from the storms of eons ago
have not deterred you from standing yet firm and tall.

Birds of the air welcome refuge during flight.
Small animals scurry up and down your long limbs,
searching for safe places to store food they find.
Loose bark is host to varied insects and lichens.

Changing seasons have rendered new challenges,
yet you have waged each battle with enduring strength.
Blessed be those dancing midst moonlit shadows,
rejuvenated by gifts you share with the earth.

Sheila Bowyer Kline
Photograph Spring, 2020
“Perhaps the earth can teach us, as when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.” Pablo Neruda