A Season's Change Poem by Jo R. Escher

Fledgling one, your arrival shook the foundations of mother earth

I stood in witness to her gentle arms wrapping around you

Watching as the warm soil protected and nurtured your needs

She towered tenderly above, ever-present in hiding you from harm



You began to grow strong in the season of new beginnings

The bittersweet songs of birds and thunderstorms encircled you

I see also the impressions of scars left upon your tender flesh

Mothers leaves began to wither in the summer heat



Together your loyalty held steadfast, facing the drenching rains

The angry winds tore and ravaged tender leaves

Wisdom surpassed knowledge, being taught to bend instead of break

As limbs intertwined in an embrace, capturing those moments of time



A crisp autumn breeze brought forth a splendor of colors

Change loomed ever present, as one shifted place with the other

Gallantly you stood, a fierce protector in those final days

Webbed branches reaching out with lessons learned, some too late



A savage winters snow lain cold upon your naked form

The brown tattered leaves long fallen away

Within the chilled forest one has begun to question

Did her falling make even a sound?



11/15/2003