Gather In

by Susan Lindsay

where
the great oak tree
has its roots —
between them
eroded soil
affords shelter,
   the trunk sturdy
   behind our backs,
   they spread a cavern
   beneath, the tap
    — far below imagining —
   feeds seed of fruits

falling from
       the spread and alchemy of branches —
        above
   a canopy
reaching across lands and seas
where the acorns fall.
Imaginings torn with leaves
from the reach by gales
that shipwreck occasional bearers
scurry others to shelter.

A gentler wind lands
empty husks
to decompose, compose ground
where earthed ’corns release
sapling varieties of old tunes
tap rhythms for the feats
of new generations.

Shelter where the old roots
break ground

harvest
thanks.