Miscellaneous Plant Poems 1

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Colored leaves ablaze

Float above the water's edge

Warmth on top of cold

Born from wind at play among the trees

A thousand tiny hands, each on tiny wrist

Sparkling green, unleashed by summer breeze

Clapping hands, in jubilation, shake and twist

I found a rugged rock today with folds and crests and dips

And next to it, a tree had grown with large and luscious lips

With which it kissed the rock as if to say "I'm glad you're here”

And so the two have stayed there, kissing, year by year by year

Some folks say that trees can sing

I've heard, my heart agrees

The chorus that the wild winds bring

A solo in the breeze

Their voice? The needles of the pines

A whoosh, and then a whish

Singers standing tall, in lines

As swaying branches swish

Some folks say that trees can dance

I saw two dance today

Wrapped round each other, tree romance

Two twisting trunks at play

Their tall and stately tango taught

By years spent in that pose

And all my little picture caught?

Dance shadows, I suppose

Some folks say that trees embrace

And sometimes even kiss

I saw two, standing face to face,

Caught up in woody bliss

Trunk to trunk, bark on bark

Unabashed and proud

In sunshine bright and nighttime dark

Kissing long, though not so, loud

And yet we think that trees were made

To cut, to burn, to split

Lumber, paper, fuel and shade

Consumption, is that it?

Think again, and look and see

Them dance and kiss and sing

Just standing there, alive and free

What happiness they bring!

I walked along the right-of-way and saw the work of men

The land was scarred, but I remembered how it once had been

Trees, and shrubs and flower carpets covering the ground

With wild bird songs coming from the hillsides all around

Now trucks and chainsaws, men, machines had cut down oaks and pines

And carved a road across the hills to work on power lines

But as I hiked along the road, some color caught my eye

Coming from some flowers gazing up at bright blue sky

Pretty, white, and perched upon a tiny little stem

Nestled in some weeds, a lovely Star of Bethlehem

And as I walked still farther there, beneath the power line,

Sweet fragrance drew me to a tangled Honeysuckle vine

Along a rocky stretch, I saw still more, as I looked down

A Golden Alexander with its jeweled, royal crown

Overhead and gleaming in the sun, the wire loomed

While there below, a single gnarled hillside Dogwood bloomed

And high above, a tower made of heavy rusted metal

But safe below, a Wild Geranium's lilac-colored petal

But my favorite discovery, beneath the powerline

Was a lovely thriving flock of bright red, wild Columbine

There is a price that we all pay to build the world of men

It's nice to know that life is strong, and springs back, even then

As I walked along, I'm glad that I looked down today

And saw the flowers growing there along the right-of-way!