the "real" Christmas trees

sky is a mirror

snow-dredged, grey-stained

by sleet & salt

december breezes 

stiff cold as bone-dry wheat stalks

maple trees are leafless

while pine and spruce trees are needled-thick

unadorned, uncut & crowned

by winter stars

magical

[I wish I could send you one]

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.    This is a 44 word post with the chosen word "snow".   Thanks for your visits and comments.

we are lungs and history

 

Under the maple trees, we fall

Soft as pinecones, sun-creased skin

We worry not where we land and rust

We embrace the autumn season

We are kin with elm, oak, pine, spruce

And so many more than we can count

We worry not where we fit & thrive

With wildflowers at our feet

When sky is blue, we breathe as one

At night, we dream of stars, all bright

We worry not about darkness

And bow to the tides of the moon 

We grow older than elephants

With wrinkles, warts & wounds

We revel our fruits & seed pods

Instead of poison, spikes and strifes

We are your lungs and history

But we can also be barren land

When forgetting about us, a voice calls

For war, spilling oil, blood and gore

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Writing from a Collective Point of View, Hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.

Join us when we open the pub doors at 3pm EST.  Thanks for your visits and comments.

The grapevine in the forest

i heard the gossip

under the shades-
   sneaky & stealing neighbors
kind & helpful friends
   errant kids & strangers on the prowl

over the wall, 

exchanges of motherly notes
   and recipes for home made remedies- 
nerdy friends busy 
   as mushrooms sending messages-

behind the fence, 

chatterboxes filled with stories  
   from friends across the field-
news of birth & spring parties
   of wild blue flowers-
clack of knitting needles as 
   children nod off to sleep-

between two ancient mothers

"a family is moving in tomorrow."
"let's prepare a nice dish."
"and big welcome banner!"
"we trees need to stick together!"

Inspired by Ted Talk's Suzanne Simard:  How Trees Talk to Each other 

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Community - Hosted by Paul Dear ~  Thanks for the visit ~

Roots

I sign a form 
to give away every part of me when I die

My twigs for shade from yellow-humid sun
My red blooms for tea & medicine
My thick leaves, dried & tied, an omen for blessings

Take these fibrous sap 
Sweeter than young tender coconut
Silk is my color, golden ripening 

My flesh, pickled spicy & thinly sliced, a feast    
My oblong seeds,  blossoming wings & words
My trunk, weathered storm, a ladder, a boat or ship

I see on desert or barren land 
My eyes craning for glorious sunset, pared succulent & ripe

Roots dig
deeply entrenched into a river

Underneath parched lands or dusty streets
A long shadow, healing & crowning a sky

For all my children's
children to remember me by-

Mango Tree Flower

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Thanks for the visit ~

Bitten

I can withstand

storms, sun & wind

Bare on my back

stirring old bones to creaking

But when you found me

& burrowed your teeth

& tunneled your body

deep into my guts & liver, 

I turn red brown

suckered of sap & fruits

bitten black, scarred grey

feasted like honeycomb until I

tumble down, a king

whittled penniless by marauding bandits 

Notes:   When a tree is infested by pine beetles, the dead needles on the pine trees turn bright red. These beetles cause devastation by killing the pine trees and in the coming years, they are expected to wipe out over 80% of British Columbia's pine forest.

During our summer visit to BC last year, I was impressed with the architectural marvel of the Richmond Olympic Stadium.   The  wood ceiling is made of 1 million feet of salvaged pine beetle wood from forests of BC. The bitten wood panels made the ceiling unique & beautiful.

Grace @ Everyday Amazing

Richmond Olympic Stadium, BC

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Hosted by Bjorn -  Happy Weekend ~

She said, "Love your tree!"

So my 
feet grew 
roots deep & mighty 
ropes to anchor a ship 

And my belly heard earthquakes
& animal cries before fear could strike

And my fingers trembled like a leaf when
 when you rested under my shade of  blooms  

And my thighs became strong to wrap  around 
the man  & hold him here, and my breasts heavy

with milk  dripped  before my child  could utter a cry  
And my hands soft as feathers nurtured the fire of nests 

My  spine tingled  with distrust and healed with care 
and  my bones  heard  darkest of  storms coming

 Under every line, freckle & wrinkle, I relished:  
seeds, sap, cracks, decay & fruits 

Then, I echoed back 
mother's words :
   
I love my tree! 

Update:   This has been selected as Poem of the Week by Poets United


“The body knows things a long time before the mind catches up to them. I was wondering what my body knew that I didn't.” 

― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

Posted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Sunday's Challenge
Shared with Poets United

And I thought of sharing this lovely poster ~

Credit:   TreeSisters