Redwood
by Denise Fuehrer Burnette
Perched beneath a redwood
feeling infinitely meek
I wonder what this tree would say
if only she could speak
Could she answer all my questions
would she help to calm my fears
might she share the ancient wisdom
that has riddled man for years?
Or reveal to me the secret
to truly being free
so simple to achieve
that it’s known by every tree
All the truth she must have found
standing here for all these days
in harmony with life’s great force
never questioning its ways
Is it her hope to share
all the wisdom and the wealth
of her life here in the forest
where she came to know herself?
There seems no need for words
for words could never tell
the secrets of the universe
she understands so well
Just sitting here beneath her
somehow I feel as though
she needs not a single word
to teach what I should know
Perhaps it’s best she’s silent
words might be this queen’s demise
for if she spoke our language
perhaps she wouldn’t be so wise