The Tree

Gnarled roots
Twist the Churning earth,
Nourishing the brilliant crown spread above me,
Reaching like great fingers to touch
A charcoal sky with no end.

The brittlest branches are there.
Layer upon layer of gold leaves
Flap one side to another
Like horde of human hands
Waving in unison.

Some of these lovely leaves will not endure,
Subservient to the elements.
The callous wind severs the fragilest first,
furiously thrashing even at the bare bark.

A blackening sky hovers ever closer to those
Brilliant boughs.
Soon I,
And the haughty blaze of burnt umber, cadmium yellow
And vermilion

Will tremble.....
With the coming of the one who shapes us both.

Sukkot B'Gan Edan

Sukkot

Wind Blows
And the canvas flaps gently.
Leaves rustle
And the wind pulls the walls fiercely,
Heaving and breathing the blue stenciled prayers
And Sacred Names in our hastily tied
Tinker toy shelter
The air is sweetly cool and smells of pine and grass
Look up! The moon is full
Rising over the hemlocks,
While the stars twinkle between bamboo and branches.
In here we can smell
The Garden