Inglorious Burdens

I walk my dogs in the woods each morning and I feel free
Deeply I breathe the air and the trees sing with elation as they fulfill their purpose
I think in my arrogance these tree’s need me but haa, that’s not true
I need them

They stand each day where they were the day before
Secure in their destiny, roots sunk deeply into the ground of their souls
They are silent to my ears as they speak but are not heard
They are blind to my eyes, yet they see but are not seen
One small fellow holds his many feeble branches straight towards the sky
Baring against the weight of time, the corpse of his massive fallen friend
Another fallen one frozen in her last gasp for life, leans against her gentle, strong companion, her cancer ridden roots exposed for the rest to see

A young sapling pushes her way through the hardened winter ground reaching for the warmth of the solstice sun
While one has a barbed wire through the center of his trunk having grown up with this all his life

Their scars are many, born from the hand of man and nature
Both alive and dead they give life to many
I can see and touch all of their scars
As they bare the burden of giving me breath

They stand each day where they were the day before
Secure in their destiny, roots sunk deeply into the ground of their souls
They are silent to my ears as they speak but are not heard
They are blind to my eyes, yet they see but are not seen