Connection

The Deciduous Tree (Part 3)

Do the leaves hold on to the tree’s branches 
or is it the tree’s own doing 
when it comes to ultimately letting go?

The leaves have completed their cycle.
They were the first buds and sign of spring
Opening into colorful blossoms.

The blossoms became the green or dark hues
Expressing the type of deciduous tree.
All shapes and shades of green expanding toward the sky.

Next there were the seeds.
The future generation of trees were expelled down.
Pinwheels of seeds helicoptered below
The descent to bring forth descendants.

Now that the seeds had done their work,
The tree could finally show its true colors.
The green transformed to bright oranges, reds and yellows.
My oldest calls them the color of the setting sun.

The strong autumn breezes help the trees
Shed their leaves.
And then they are bare,
Ready to brace the cold of winter.

No fragile blossoms to accidentally freeze.
Just the tree and its roots
Starkly standing in the white of snow.

Forever patient.
The cycle can’t be rushed or passed through
Because it is nature’s own timing
And the tree plays its part.

The deciduous tree reminds me
That all stages are important.
One is not more special than the other.

It is a seasonal reminder
That life’s moments are brief.
And there is beauty and a lesson to behold
If I just take nature’s cue.




Connection

FAITH

I circle around the sun
Even though physically
I have stayed and slept
Within the same walls.
It may appear to all my senses
That I embody the same place 
Time and again.
However, the sky tells a different story.

In winter, the sun rises a bit more
To the right in the eastern sky.
Yes, daylight is short.
But the minutes of sunshine
Tack on to the days
Even if I’m not paying attention.

The world is quiet now.
There is less bird song.
Yet if I get quiet
And listen,
I can hear what the winter bird sings.

I circle around the sun
And have faith that
Day will return
After a long wintery night.

I have faith that the season will change
As it always does
And is meant to.

Further evidence that the journey
Around the sun is
Always in motion
Never stagnant
Never ceasing to surprise
And delight.

The momentum forward
Is not always linear.
But I have faith
That I play a part
In the great bird song today
And the song that is not yet sung
But is written on a paper airplane
Caught in a breeze
On its way
To be heard and sung.
Connection

The Deciduous Tree

The deciduous tree 
does not appear 
as it once stood
just one month ago.
Its outstretched arms are glowing
against the backdrop 
of the deep blue sky.
Splotchy green
with yellow or browned edges.

Yet the mighty maple
is just the sum of its 
many tiny parts.
The branch reaches toward the sky
on its solid trunk.
A resting place for tiny buds
that blossomed and burst
into a big bold green.
Seeds descended and dispersed.
And now we get to see 
the leaves’ true colors.

The deciduous tree
does not get to choose when
it’s time to blossom or seed.
It is synched to the 
rhythm of nature
beyond our concept 
of time.

The seasons connect me
and ground me
in a world that always
seems to be spinning faster
and faster,
Almost off-kilter
Off balance.

As the cycle of the season begins
I’m suddenly reminded 
of the color,
the beauty,
the cycles of nature
that surround me.
Always there.
A constant reminder that
I, too, am a child of nature
and connected to
the timeless rhythms 
that surround me.


self-care

A walk in January

It is unusually warm today in the 50s in southern New England.  The piles of snow from last week’s blizzard are starting to melt.  Drops occasionally drip on my head from the historical buildings as I walk on by.  The snow is dirty.  Rain is in the near forecast.  It’s gray and cloudy.  Remnants of holiday cheer are strewn here and there:  bits of broken pine and evergreen and a solo red ornament missing its hook lay on my path.

The snow is melting.  I see the turf of green grass at the edge of a wall.  There’s litter, a cigarette butt, and tiny pine needles reminding me of what once was there.  It’s the kind of day that you wish you could curl up and take a nap or read a book.  Rain is on its way.

Whenever I take a walk, I’m reminded that the simple act of walking clears up my mind and breaks up my workday.  I will go back to my office and eat a cara cara orange, my favorite fruit this time of year.  I’ll enjoy its bountiful juice and eat a piece of sunshine to brighten this dreary day.