To say I love trees
is already to say too little—
for how does one measure devotion
to something that teaches you how to stand
without applause?
I love trees is an understatement, of course i will always love you --
You are silence itself,
rooted and unflinching
in the middle of the night,
when the world holds its breath
and even the moon seems unsure.
You do not explain the darkness—
you simply remain within it.
Silent as a dead in the middle of the night -- you can be that!
You are also movement,
alive with a thousand green tongues,
leaves swaying like whispered secrets
caught between wind and will.
You rustle, yes—
but never in haste,
never in anger.
Even your noise is gentle,
as if the air has learned manners
just to pass through you.
Vibrant as your leaves get to sway by the winds, rustling and yet, gentle -- you can be that!
You are the deaf-mute witness
to our small human dramas—
arguments that flare and fade,
laughter that spills then disappears,
promises made too quickly on street corners.
You say nothing,
yet you remember everything.
Your rings hold time
the way oceans hold salt.
Deaf-mute witness, to what is happening around the block -- you can be that!
You offer shade
without keeping score.
No complaint, no ledger,
no demand for thanks.
You cool tired foreheads,
shelter quiet conversations,
and allow children to believe
the world is kinder than it is.
Provider of shades, without complaining -- you can be that!
Even when cut,
you give.
Even when burned,
you leave warmth behind.
Even when fallen,
you teach us gravity—
how everything that rises
must one day rest.
A refuge of comfort, when the sun scorches the skin, willingly soothes -- you can be that!
I love you not because you are beautiful
(though you are),
but because you endure.
Because you grow slowly,
because you trust the earth,
because you do not hurry us.
To love trees
is to love patience,
is to believe that staying
can be an act of courage.
And so—
yes.
I will always love you.
Thank you, is all i can say...
dearest Tree.
_
billymacdeus ®poetry