Resilient Like Trees

In honor of Earth Day last week, I spent some quality time with my favorite nearby trees. Magnolia, Sequoia, Oak, and Sycamore. I find inspiration thinking about hundreds-of-year old trees weathering every storm life delivers. When my own life (and the world around me) feels unsteady, I find it supportive to imagine myself as a deeply rooted tree with flexible, swaying branches - resiliently returning to stillness once the storm passes. In praise of trees and all the rest of Mother Earth's bounty, I offer you a poem below. 


Singing Praises to the Roots

To all the trees, bushes, and grasses
I bow down at your trunks and stems
to sing my praises to your roots

Never before have I listened so deeply to your wisdom
received such nourishment from your beauty
and noticed your stunning details
ever-changing with the seasons

I used to think an oak was an oak
and a maple was a maple
​oh what a narrow and limited view

I see you, finally, for who you are
awake to your infinite brilliance
and elegant diversity

You leave me in awe and delight
when I pause and truly take you in
and heartbroken by the loss 
of so many of your kin
You are bringer of joy, and survivor

May we all continue to feed our resilience in this time of many storms! For more poems and altars, please join me on Instagram or Facebook.