Saturday, April 25, 2015

Beneath Their Canopies

Mill Creek Preserve, oil painting by Mary Bast
Earth’s endless effort to speak to heaven,
unique in the smallest play of leaves,
complex curvings of branches,
nuances of green, foliage nodding
in instants of breeze or dappling sun,
blossoms too beautiful for words.

 
The tree seems still, a spot of shade,
birds’ home, nectar guide for pollinators,
warming love’s seeds beneath boughs.
Rain falls, wind sways, soil sustains,
nature subtly changing life’s essence.

 
Making no sound or sign
a forest can give the sky feeling.


 
OFF THE SHELF PoMoSco badge:  "Head to your local library or bookstore, making a mental note of things you see on your journey. Choose one of those for research and find five books related to that topic. Compose a poem using only the words and phrases found on the first five pages of each text, excluding introductory matter."

On my way to the library to prepare for this badge, I rejoiced in the abundant greenery of Gainesville Florida's urban forest. In addition to naturally growing laurel and water oaks, many thousands of trees have been planted along our streets, including magnolias, winged elms, bluff oaks, live oaks, and Florida maples.

Sources:  
The Power of Trees, Gretchen C. Daily & Charles J. Katz Jr,  San Antonio, TX: Trinity UP, 2012. 
Between Earth and Sky, Nalini M. Nadkarni, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008.
The Glory of the Tree, Noel Kingsbury, Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2014.  
The Secret Life of Trees, Hiara Chevallier, New York: DK Publishing, 1999.
Florida’s Fabulous Trees, Singapore: World Publications, 2000.

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