The rock and the old oak tree

 

On the cold, hard rock I sat

Feet on the damp, dark earth

Rain and blustering wind swirling around me

Naked and afraid, yearning and anxious

Shivering in my discomfort

My bloody, wounded self for all of creation to see

Silence and solitude speak loudly to my soul

From the Great Silence I cry out – here I am, I am listening, speak to me

 

But only the old oak took notice of me

 

A slap on the head for a greeting

The acorn fell to the ground

A gift, a lesson – life comes from life, but only after you go down into the deep earth to die, if you make it that far

 

Ravenous ADHD greedy squirrels are on the prowl

Take only a bite and leave the rest to rot

Empty acorn shells liter the earth of the woods floor

Broken, cracked, rotting, empty of new life’s potential

Slowly they will add to the humus and renew the possibility of life

Out of failure the deep earth for another acorn is made

 

Old oak knew I was afraid

 

Leaves and branches sheltered me from the rain

Hid me from the looming angry clouds above

Lively leaves and strong branches swayed not only above

At my feet their sisters and brothers lay

Broken and lifeless their energy spent

Not necessary or so important, not the sum of the tree

Another gift, another lesson – leaves and branches will only find their life and their true importance as part of the big oak tree

 

More lessons the old oak had to teach

 

The oak pointed behind me to the slender pines

So tall and orderly they stood side by side, yet

Passionately they danced and gyrated to the lusty embraces of the wind

In their midst, here and there, empty spaces cried out

Clean cut stumps the only monument remaining

Of the once tall and energetic trees

While the living brothers and sisters danced on

Celebrating, rejoicing, and losing themselves in their dance with the wind

 

Then old oak bared his broad rough chest for me to see

 

Deep cracks filled with moss

Scars weeping, crawling with bugs

Further up my eyes he drew me

Dying limbs, shattered branches, dead leaves hanging from their noose

Higher and higher my vision leaped

Until old oak led my gaze

To see the life towering and spreading out above me

Reaching for heaven and deeply rooted into the earth

Holding hands with friends, maple, pine and birch

Leaves, needles, and branches raised up in praise

Grass, flowers, bushes, and seedlings

Flitting birds and chattering squirrels

Even rock and moss and mushroom down below growing from the dead

Join in the worship

The gloomy clouds part to let the Sun shine through

My wounds now slowly healing

Transforming into something sacred

My heart and soul swell so large

Out bursts a river of tears from my eyes

I add the voice of my true self now found to the song

Thank you, thank you, thank you!