We Never Leave

Lying down beneath a tree, I listen The wind draws whispers from rustling leaves Stories stir in the ravines of the bark They make me smile mostly, but sometimes I cry The wind draws whispers from rustling leaves They are left there by birds and moss and rain in roots They make me smile mostly, but I cry When I hear of worms wriggling to sidewalk suicide Left there by birds and moss and rain in roots Is the promise of life and an energy that connects us When I hear of worms wriggling to sidewalk suicide I see that life, all life, is wondrous and strange The promise of life and an energy that connects us Makes me look at my arms, imagine them covered in bark I see that life is wondrous and strange That I am part if it all, the bald eagles and the mud I look at my arms, imagine them covered in bark My feet become roots and my fingers become leaves I am part of it all, the bald eagles and the mud They were here long before me, yet they speak in my voice My feet become roots and my fingers become leaves Stories stir in the ravines of my bark They were there long before me, yet they’re told in my voice Now you lie beneath me, so listen