Acorn

Be patient in opening  
for 'Nature's first green'
Acorn, your golden root  
twisting invisibly underfoot;
 
Herald death instead: summer --
its scorched scarecrow shriveled
reigning rows of cracked sod  
under abandoned nests of crow
 
Welcomed by autumn's bijou;  
true citrine, ruby-fired blue
shedding her legacy of skin
to bury your amber hull  
 
Pray for that frozen grave  
overlooked by foraging squirrels;
sleep until the frigid thaw
severs winter's umbilical cord  
 
For to survive time as a mighty oak  
you must first relinquish Life itself
~