Witness

I watch her change and I know she will again. It may be all that I know, truly.

Brushing my window, her branches bend and sway. Dancing, flirting with the breeze.

She doesn’t break because her roots are deep, although she’s still young. Supple. All the way down, to the source, she knows she owns this place, the patch that’s hers. Her trunk has grown wider as she’s risen, adding protection for the vital core; preserving the wisdom of what has passed, both when it was dry and when the skies opened.

And she received all that fell and drew it into her veins. Transformed into nourishment, she carried it out. All the way to her tips, she extends into another place, the space that is not hers. Into the light, into the entrance to where I live. She creates shade, dappled darkness where I step.

Until she rests. Drawing her energy back, allowing her veil to slowly drop. With what appears to be a burst of vibrancy is merely a last hurrah; one last chance to seize the waning days.

Afar, her compadres have already fallen, chills in the air. And yet here she stands, still, gifting me.

As she lets go and releases all that she’s held up and held onto. As she transforms from the one who covers to the one who is bare. As she remains here; anchor dropped. Ready.

She still feels the spread of the sun, the tickle of the wind. Out of sight is growth and a steadfastness that tells me I can count on her. To sit beneath, to dig my toes into the soil now revealed under her thick canopy. To remind myself that I can feel it, too. The movement, the inherent cycle, the rhythm of what comes next. That I can set my seeds and feel the splendor, watch with wonder as they bud pink, unfolding into bright green delight. That I can honor the deepest parts of me that continue to feed in both directions, creating life and moving on.

That when all of what I offer has fallen at my feet, I am still alive, awake to the dawn as it rises overhead. That I still offer a place to nest, to rest. To be still and straight. To receive and receive and receive. To just stand here and simply be what I am and nothing more. Alchemy.

She reminds me to begin again.