Dearest Friend,

 

Lend me your branches,

that I may spend upon them

a sultry summer day

 

Enfold me in broad leaves

allow secretive breaths

to divulge the heartbeat of the forest

 

A crisper wind makes itself known

sucking on my hair

peeling my fingers from your bark

 

Grasping at your flailing leaves

faltering in swirling eddies

You favor a coat of copper

 

I plead your presence

to remain

Unfeigned tears slip away

 

I watch you

bare your trunk for greedy

mouths of maggots

 

 

And, feeling selfish,

curl upon my own flesh

like a burning leaf

 

You await the touch of spring

patiently

earnestly

 

A caterpillar creeps up your sullen limbs

its persistent pace instilling

hope