Saturday, August 12, 2017

The Stand

Consider the aspen stand
Ablaze in autumn’s rays
Swaying,
A swooning chorus
In chilling winds
That would break a man
But bending;
Elasticity defying gravity.
While upon a rock
The forest stands
In the fleeting
Comfort of Northern Michigan sand,
A mighty army
--- steadfast, resolute
Yet issuing forth
From a single root---
A solitary vein running
Below, beneath,
Uniting, abiding,
Persevering as one
Emboldened by roots entwined.
If one should fall
--- a tragedy;
A masterpiece,
Yet the stand endures
As decades pass
For purpose breeds in simple things;
Far beyond time and tide;
A greater lord
Than function or form
Kindled by a common flame.
No single tree
Does a forest make.
Even death, that slow embrace;
That subtle entropy
Ensures a future harvest.
Perhaps the greatest victory
Is in becoming the soil
In which children grow.
That darkest shade
Between root and worm
Brings the highest canopy
With leaves aflame;
Tow’ring tall above mossy floor

Inspiring grace and truth and life.

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