Ode to the Tree.
Beautiful tree,
How I wonder at you.
Your long skinny branches,
long and bony.
Your deep deep roots. Growing—
taking up space
across the supple ground.
How I love to trace them, trying
to find where you begin,
knowing I never will.
Oh, magnificent tree,
so still you stand
through the rain and snow.
In the dark and the light.
Bending your branches
in the strong wind.
Bending to adjust
with the season.
Watching. So patient.
So sacred.
Giving the world your beauty,
asking for nothing in return.
Oh, the things you’ve seen!
The stories you can tell.
But, you keep them hidden.
Giving love instead.
In my walks, I see you.
Long and willowy.
Bent and twisted.
At the same time,
delicate and rugged.
Feathery and long are your green sprouts.
Seeing you—
I let go of worries
plaguing my mind–
focusing only on you
and nothing else.
I am amazed.
How stunning that each tiny leaf grows
in just the right way to catch the sun’s rays,
how each branch opens into the next,
how each part of the same tree is completely different
than any other but,
still the same.
Such beauty.
Such love.
Lucky I am
that I paid attention
today.
Lucky I am that your glance
caught mine.
Lucky to see you,
and most of all,
to feel you–
your love,
that’s always been
here
waiting.
Now, I want to linger
in this love of the world.
Not wanting to go inside.
And, I wonder
why I worry so much
about everything—never
letting my mind be
clear and uncluttered
like it is now
when I’m here with you.
Nothing seems important
now.
Work, ambitions,
that stupid thing I said today
and what I should have
said instead,
the anger I felt, and then
the sadness
all have disappeared.
And, I feel free–
floating, dancing,
in this love,
the love of the world,
that surrounds me,
that has penetrated into me.
And, now finally,
I feel me.
*****
Ruchi Jain is a Yoga, meditation, and spirituality junkie. She is on a constant mission to find inspiration in the smallest of things. She lives in a constant state of curiosity and awe of the world around her. Connect with her on Facebook.
More Tree-Hugging:
>> Hermann Hesse on Trees, Longing & Belonging.
{Nature calls}