FOREST LIFE

Forest trees competing for sunshine
reach high toward the canopy.
Faces turned upward, they
drink whenever the sky throws droplets their way.
 
Monkeys spend time in the branches.
Family members grooming and nurturing,
holding and loving, and
teaching the ways of monkeyhood.
 
Saplings springing from the forest floor are groomed
by the seasons. They hold on to the soil in a
loving embrace and are taught
by mothers and friends the ways of treehood.
 
Tall trees dancing,
feet slowly tapping underground
to the serene sound of the stars
waltzing across the heavens.
 
Each move in this dance of the trees
takes a month or more.
They are underground, unseen and unfelt by all
but friends that share this soil with them.
 
The flowing limbs move gracefully
in response to nighttime breezes
or neighborly conversation
with others of their kind.
 
Trees watch as the nymphs arrive,
who frolic on the spongy moss covered floor,
and pick up green pine needles for
their beloved aroma and resultant high
 
They dance in a circle and gambol
to the lively sounds of the music
they innately carry in their heads.
Never serious, they giggle all night.
 
“Oh, tree!  It is so wonderful to dance!
May I teach you to dance so sprightly and lightly?”
“Nymph, we’re happy with our dance.”
“But, Tree, no one can see it!”
 
“Dear Nymph, we dance for the
sheer joy of the dance.
“And more importantly,
we dance for ourselves!
 
“Our dance keeps us alive
and makes us so happy.
Might we teach you
this dance of the trees?”