Ode To Trees Poem by David Whalen

…ODE TO TREES…

Trees, like people...are
More than what they show...
Much, much more than
What they let us see

They're sentient beings
In a sense we can't know
Uncommonly communal creatures
Are the common trees

There exists a hierarchy
Just ‘neath the Earth
Where seeds, roots and Fungi
Conspire to give birth

The rulers in this kingdom
Are tall, tattered old trees
Lightning torn and torment worn
Yet wise as they can be

In their alien (to us)wisdom
They decide who lives and survives
They provide shade and sustenance
To Saplings perilous lives

They communicate with one another
By ways of pheremones
And speak to all their Arboreal sisters and brothers
In muted, deep rooted, silent tones
It's hard to imagine them
As more than just outsize weeds
But you couldn't live without ‘em
Since they provide your most basic need

The very air you inhale
That is so essential to your life
And without which all life would fail
Cut short by Nature's knife

So look at trees as necessities
They provide for youand me
And with their many awesome Autumn leaves
There is naught so beautiful on Earth (or so worthy)
…as a time weathered tree...