Presence

She stands tall
Like a mother over the earth
With the last of her leaves
Waving like prayer flags in the wind

She has learned, once again
The art of letting go
Of each little leaf, each identity 
Each little death,
She has set them free
To dance in the wind
In a glorious display
Of light and shadows, 
Of colors and hues

Now she stands tall
Bare before the world
With her exquisite beauty
of grace and character
Edged into every crevice, every limb
Written in the core of her heart

In Wonder
Her Grace of transmuting sunlight
Into life-giving nourishment
Feeding throughout the forest floor
So she now dwells
In rest,
Within the vast mycelium network
Resting in sunlight unseen

She dwells
Silent and tall 
In the earth of her maker
In the fall of the land
In the stillness of rest

It may be Fall, 
but Spring is coming
When she will rise
into the light, again.