The Tree and I

The Tree and I I met a tree today while walking under cloud ridden skies. She was a young oak past her sapling age. Her bare branches, still in winters hold, stood stark against an evergreen backdrop. I felt her loneliness seep into my being, so I slipped over and gave her a hug. I whispered to her, “I know lonely too”, and heard an audible sigh within her wind swept branches. a young oak stands bare in winter's keeping--- brown carpeted ground After a length of time, undetermined, I slid to the ground and leaned against her trunk. I was content to keep her company for a short time on such a dreary day. Nowhere else did I need to be. No one else did I need to see. So, I leaned my head gently against her rough bark and as we both shared a quiet moment of contemplations. a woman sits at the base of a tree--- cloud laden sky Eventually I felt the cold and damp seeping into my skin and I shivered. The young oak felt this and spoke to the breeze in her highest limbs. She asked it to blow the clouds from the face of the sun so that we could both enjoy the warm rays… and so it was that we were both sun kissed on this early morning day. clouds drift away from the sun--- a girl smiles This soon became a daily ritual, loneliness drifting away with each visit. She listened to me, as I listened to her, and time flew more quickly by. Spring arrived before we knew it as the young oak beamed with her new buds. It seemed our visits now became less lonely, filled as we were with the awakening of Mother Earth. new buds on a young oak--- birds singing I shared with her and her with me, throughout the winter’s days. We laughed together and wept together during the longest of lackluster days. A friendship formed of kindred spirits that helped chase the blues away. With spring’s awakening, our confidence gaining, we rejoice in the birth of each new day. green grass returns to the lawn--- daffodils bloom All Rights Reserved @ Debra Squyres 2013 Form: haibun (mixture of prose and haiku)