Symphony In Green Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

A symphony of green feeds my soul
As I make my way through a tunnel of trees
Where the early evening light sits like crystals
On leaves half blackened by their own shadows

I left my house despondent,
Saddened and half-mad from the news
That somehow worsens from the nadir
No one ever thought it could reach.

But as I walk past high vine covered walls
Flanking me along a narrow lane
Turning onto an open road
Past my neighbors' snap peas and green tomatoes

And then under the over-reaching arms of trees
That shut out the sun for long enough for me
To start to breathe again and remember serenity,
I see bright blue at the end of the tunnel.

I move towards it, my steps lightening
As the sky expands before me
In what seems to be a clean slate,
Inviting me to empty my mind and just be.

The paddies have been flooded.
Seedlings peek out from the water
That reflects mimosa trees
Flowering in feathery magenta.

Here is beauty, planted and maintained,
Through centuries of effort,
Communal and sustained,
Reminding me that harmony

Based in humility and reverence
Has the power to overcome
The very adversities that are eroding
The country I used to call home