Trees

Here's a poem by Liz Waldner that I'd like to share. It's titled "On Moving Again":

This evening, walking along the long field
My eye was drawn to a living shimmer in the sky:
Three aspens alone alive in a world of almost motionless
Cottonwood and willow and Chinese elm trees.

The breeze that barely stirred the others
Sprang it free, spangling leaves like light on water,
An electric flutter, the secret energy
In the heart of the world revealed. Free.

An aspen leaf might believe itself inordinately busy
(especially comparatively) and certain therefore
It will expire prematurely, useless, stupid, failed.
From where I stood, it was the most beautiful thing to see.

My life could be similarly pleasing to God.
I guess this could be service enough for me.

--Liz Waldner

Our Home

If humankind continues to look at ourselves as intruders in Nature, as interlopers, we will never begin to take responsibility for our relationship with Earth. Only when we finally recognize ourselves as a natural part of the life of the planet will we cease to destroy what we are part of.