A Small Tree at the Waterfall

author’s note:

I wasn’t trying to create alliteration in the poem below…

...but neither did I try to avoid it.
　

A SMALL TREE AT THE WATERFALL

leans forward with head bowed
on a ledge halfway down the wet cliff--
its roots grip
some shallow soil found
between slabs of brittle rock

as its scrawny trunk trembles
to the threatening roar
of the cascade constantly crashing
below.

Courageous--
I believe its strength
comes from more than mere survival instinct:
the tree hangs on because it loves
that fresh gossamer mist
and hears music
in the multi-layered cacophony
of water finding joy
even while obeying
the dictates of the river.

I know I don’t really know
what the tree feels and thinks
but this belief
encourages me to find beauty
so that I may endure
a world filled
with threatening roar.

© 2021, Michael R. Patton
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