Trees are part of us. We are part of trees.
This poem has a surprise origin. Recovering from hip surgery I had gotten back from six days in the hospital. I couldn’t sleep. I was a wreck lying on the bed twitching. In the middle of the night, I got up to walk. Step by wooden step I moved. I felt like a tree Ent from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The poem came. I felt a deep connection to trees which has deepened over the years.
Press play to listen to audio of me reading CODA: OUR BREATH… and scroll down to see the whole poem.