Trees Rooting With Me

Last Autumn we invested in a 0.5 acre of Mother Earth's aria, as sung to Thames River swell and tide, New England new sprouting this our virgin spring wedding with this home place, space of grace. My urgent first task, now largely complete, was to partner with the trees and ornamentals, in bodhisattva warrior solidarity with human racing family co-arising co-respiring trees, counter-revolutioning against upstart thorns opportunistic brambles, wild grape vines reaching over all our half-danced arias of love-life allies and aliens in brambly weedpatch ways. I usually tip toward recessive underdogs and re-creation stories, as these are far too often disempowered Occupiers, but these brambles and vines colonizing monocultural graves of gracious Trees, and other sentient beings, drape together to suffocate Decomposing battle-forests of hungry thorns and briars wary of Bodhisattva SuperWarrior Me sawing and chopping and mercilessly hacking, sometimes shamelessly slashing entitlement smacking overwhelmingly invasive brambly trends of ivy towering thorns with empire-building designs for impaling my vulnerable flesh. Now, first spring posing tree re-liberation, leaves speaking young embryonic appreciation, gentle thank yous opening to more buoyant sunrise, draped in fallen sins of past neglect, daring me to turn my well-armed back, to continue this solidarity with our still-enslaved neighboring trees, gasping for strength to breathe through coils of parasitic woody stinging strikes, blood-thirsty for revenge snaking dense networked vines stretching down valley toward river source of water's satisfying sensual displays, more generous than I would prefer, taking no sides in this small revolution within Earth's half-reborn arias of stress-afflicted trees. Without sufficient humility I more resemble thorny brambles than wise Elder Trees rooting through fertility-drenched systems deep down into River's soulful bed, rising reflectively to meet Full Moon nights of bright. Yet, in self-defense, and defense of elder trees and florid ornamentals, I prize our diversity and harmonic balance; not so much looking for a freely parasitic ride up to sun's commingling paradise. Now free to speak their new spring intentions, my neighbor-sensing trees, allies, co-residents of this half-rebaked acre, remind me to do my healthy best with them, try to follow their strong-rooted co-infested example, and avoid proliferating over-populated competitions for River's water and SunGod's co-arising light.