Becoming

even now
in the midst of spring’s
green and glorious abundances

trees whisper of the coming of winter

their voices – sweet and high
subtle murmurs in the wind

recalling long forgotten landscapes
remembering footprints and laughing children
recording the unspoken promises of lovers

ring
after ring
after ring

life’s ebb and flow…here

our Elders – earthbound only
by the circles of our mutual existence

even now
these breath-taking, life-giving magicians
dream of changing spring into summer into fall into winter

becoming and becoming and becoming…

tables and chairs
food and medicine
music and fire…

gracefully relinquishing
leaf and root and bark

surrendering all in the name of transformation

and here
leaf-fluttering and limb-creaking
they hope that you, yourself

will witness them as art
even while remembering them as trees…

Contributed by Tricia Alexander, Chicago, IL