Why not?
Why not watch the cardinal groom itself
a vivid crimson the color of fresh blood
on the uppermost branch
of my favorite cherry tree bathed in sunlight?
Why not observe the crows alight,
on the bone end of the
loblolly pine bough
cawing out the forecast to our day,
where the mockingbird bares its soul,
operatic,
insistent,
praying matins over and over.
Why not let this beautiful place
tell me how to live
and write words?
Why not listen to the green leaves
advise me to breathe sun
and draw water into my trunk
and exhale only what serves fellow beings
to live my time and
let go,
to drop to Earth,
burrow my body’s ash,
let the elements no longer mine
nourish all five of the earthworm’s hearts,
the robin’s breast,
the flight of angels and beloveds.
© 2024 A Wolfenden, Earth Family Trust