cedar song

   
the cedars creak outside my window   
their hollow mumbling bones   
rhythmically speaking   
low-toned   
in nothing but the softest whispers   
barely heard above howling wind   
   
as filigree shadows sidle   
sideways   
gentle fingers trailing across my storm-tossed mind   
I feel their humming in my marrow   
mo{u}rning songs of ancient sorrows   
drumming pain within the ground   
   
& I lay prostrate   
face pressed to throbbing earth   
in silent reverence   
listening   
to their ageless dirge   
as I exhale   
please  
with every breath   
   
teach me to be solid
& pliable
supple
roots burrowed
deep within rich soil
let me be nourished
by gentle showers
& kissed
by warming sun

show me
how to protect you
guarding your seeds
against harsher days yet to come
with the solemn understanding
what I do for you
my sacred mother
will also carry me