Gerald Dillenbeck | + Follow Poet |
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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.

Copyright © Gerald Dillenbeck | Year Posted 2016

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