with a firm hold
your roots have gained entry
to the home of soil beneath you.
you have grown, matured and stood strong and tall.
a sentry, anchored in your ample shade,
you offer gifts of pollen, nectar and seed,
protection, warmth and inspiration.
your leaves are food for caterpillars and insects,
creating a vital chain of life within the woods surrounding you.
a truth-teller, you expose the ravages of storm
and time. long-living has hollowed your trunk
and stolen more limbs than remain,
their gaping holes left ragged and bird-filled.
your silhouette has diminished but not your
determined stance, your vital history or
your contribution to the whole.
I honor your presence.
I bear witness to your undoing.
and I call you out as
goddess
healer
and a symbol
of love and truth.
—Colleen Carroll
Artist & Poet, Leeward Farm
