If we could stand like trees
Would we sing Spring green at the widening of our girths
Would we share our shade and join our roots in unity
…………………………………and a tender reach for water
What serenity might we find from the act of bearing witness
or from swaying….just enough…..in the turmoil of wind from the west?

If we could stand like trees
How selflessly would we grant shelter
Would we offer food and home to life’s small creatures
Would we find joy in our mixed woodland?

What might our view be,
With the circling of each year

If we could stand like trees?

 

This poem arose when I was asked by the Woodland Trust to compose a poem for Joyden’s Wood, an area of ancient woodland on the border between southeast London and Kent. In the end, I sent them a completely different poem, one that will be available to listen to from within a giant acorn carved out of wood. Sometimes it happens like that. On the journey towards a poem, as it is with a walk to a particular destination, there can be many side routes and unexpected finds.