If I were an eagle
I’d be here, soaring free
Sweeping through your narrows
Upon gusts that never slow.
And if I were a rain cloud
I’d pass by every time
To feed this valley floor with
Water, for to see you forever full.
And if I were a hungry bear
I’d find my way to you
To feed upon your wild berries
And fish upon your stream.
And if I were forever wiggling
My white tail, bounding free,
I’d seek your meadow pasture
To fill my belly overflow.
As the sun kisses my face
Your blossoms shall kiss my nose –
Fill my eyes with butterflies
And leave me singing songs.
And when I walk up to my shins
Amongst your thriving throng,
My toes shall catch your hearty stems
My fingertips you’ll reach to kiss,
And leave me lost in harmony
Like I’ve once felt before
On a sunny day out at sea
Where my mind remains happy, forevermore.
From your wild edges I stand
Your mysterious torrent
Carries my heart back and forth
Up and down
Catching little glimpses of what
Dares to ride your furious wave
And my imagination takes me wildly
Over and around the sharp rocks
I know you pass by
For I, standing here,
In awe upon the jagged edges
Of my wildest imaginations
By your side
Perched upon the sharp ledge
With a vantage of your toil.
And if I was caught running
Your wisp would rush my toes
Curling under and in between
To help my source be greater.
You’d call out loud
You’d stop me quick
You’d be my imprint, washed away,
Sea shells, sand dollars, soft glass broken.
And in your fleeting memory –
In my test upon your banks!
Forever cycle into rhythm,
Ebb and flow shall now begin.
In all my years of traveling days
You’ve been there by my side,
Led me ahead when I’ve been lost
Followed me close as I ran fast.
And when I pause to give you space
You’ve never let me down,
You’ve always shown me in animate
Horses and dinosaurs and ducks, sure!
Amidst visions I’ve of you,
Crumbling, rumbling, rambling and full.
Breaking and spitting and spinning too
To bring me closer yet, to you.
So when you are my lungs, I am all yours,
When you are so high, so far,
You are my dreams I send afar,
And when my sleepy eyes first wake,
It’s to the sky I send my morning eyes.
I looked up to wonder
How many years has your bark
Entangled your sinuous heart,
The very fibers of your girth
And timber, thick.
How long have you towered
Above the rest of your
Brothers and sisters
Reminding them through a good example
Of how big and strong they can yet grow?
And my mind runs along your vertical stripes
To follow the years of your growth
I count the markings
The lateral indicators
Of a healthy year or a false start.
And if I listen carefully as I stroll on by
I can hear you whispering my name
Reminding me of why I came,
And to whom I owe this poem.
Dear Maple, so sweet
Your heart is my nectar
To warm on the cold days
To taste and to glow.
But that’s not all
Of your marvelous fall,
For yellows and browns
And greens and oranges
And burgundies and maroons
And suns golden hues
Shall greet me in splendor
From your largest of limbs
From your gloriously iconic leaves
And float to the ground
In a rain of pure gold
For all to behold
And bow to your throne.
And in spring
When your life shall return
I anxiously watch each blossoming bud
Counted with pure delight
From the ground where I await
In the birth of your spread
In the mirth of your stead
And smile
As I enjoy what beautiful view
Always awaits by your thick
And porous and clunky trunk.
Your mystery should not scare me
Your torrent needlessly takes me
But as I observe your pure glee
It is pure awe that overtakes me.
Splashing at my exposed shins
And cleansing all my sympathy,
Your salty kisses sent as sprayed love
Hit me deep, into my very bones.
And your depth, so full of mystery,
Takes every last bit of my fantasy
To a region I could never see
Where gods conversed
And octopus traverse
And most everything else is lost
Into the abyss.
Into my ears did whistle harmony
Not of my mind or in my thoughts
But wind, easy wind to fill me up
With dear, sweet oxygen.
And to my friend I inhaled in
The deepest breaths I could bring
To fill my lungs so full, I smiled.
For my liberty was brought to me
So free my mind, so free my body,
So free my soul to float on to
A cloud, where I’m with you.
Sweet dirt, my soil;
Great bounty of life.
Breathing and heaving and turning delight.
You break down my blossoms
And decompose your own waste
To help nurture all life
Balanced, and full of bugs and worms.
Your kindness is forgiving,
Your consistency is staggering,
Your patience is humbling,
Your vitality encouraging.
Even your air is enlivening –
Quite literally in fact.
And if until forever I had
Betwixt my fingernails and toes
Your rich presence to look at
Your heart in my hand,
I’d forever be full
Of everything I’d ever need
Until the day at last did come
For me to join thee, forever free.
