Into the Woods, 22: Beneath the trees

Let the trees be consulted before you take any action
every time you breathe in thank a tree
let tree roots crack parking lots at the world bank headquarters
let loggers be druids specially trained and rewarded
to sacrifice trees at auspicious times
let carpenters be master artisans
let lumber be treasured like gold
let chain saws be played like saxophones
let soldiers on maneuvers plant trees give police and criminals a shovel
and a thousand seedlings
let businessmen carry pocketfuls of acorns
let newlyweds honeymoon in the woods
walk don't drive
stop reading newspapers
stop writing poetry
squat under a tree and tell stories.

- John Wright

Or better still, keep writing poems, painting pictures, making music and telling tales beneath the trees. For it's all part of the world's great story, and the seasons turning. And we need it all.

Photographs above: Tilly beneath a beech tree, a rowan tree (spring and autumn), an oak tree (summer and winter), and nestled among the oak tree's roots. The drawings are by two Chagford friends and neighbors: "Chestnut Nuptials," an absolutely charming pen-and-ink sketch by Virginia Lee, and David Wyatt's initial pencil sketch for In the Word Wood, his beautiful painting of Tlly and me in our beloved woods.

John Wright's  untitled poem comes from Earth Prayers: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations from Around the World, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elisa Amidon. Austin Hackney gave me my copy of the book years ago, and I recommend it highly.