The Beauty of the Stubborn Tree

author’s note:

During these icy times, I’m warmed when I see so many beautiful trees.

To Sal de Mar, for her birthday.


THE BEAUTY OF THE STUBBORN TREE

I can feel the tree worrying
about the ice
weighing down its branches--
the tree never asked for the ice
to be added
to all its other duties

yet I’m comforted as I watch
the sun spark those falling drops--
that slow erosion will eventually
set the tree free.

Until then, it must strain
to maintain its black skeletal limbs
as the wind hits
with blast after blast--
a terrific crucifixion

that’ll end when the last icicle falls--
sticks in the saturated ground--
then the tree will breathe
a sigh of relief
and sing a song of joy in the breeze

even though it knows
the wind will eventually rise again--
will bring clouds, then ice again.

I often fail to notice
the magnificence of the tree
until an ice storm reveals
its glorious stubborn strength.

Now, today--
as I roam up and down
this mountainside
I see beauty in painful abundance.

Soultime: e-novel
© 2021, Michael R. Patton