Great tree of mystery
Give up your secrets
Standing a lonely watch
Circled by turbulent air
Spread out your branches
Catch raindrops falling
Shelter my weary body
From storm’s open fury
Your trunk growing strong
Standing against the night
Supporting a world of its own
Standing strong for the weight
Firmly rooted in the earth
Braced hard against the fury
Of the earth’s mighty breath
Swaying in total rhythm
Fortress in the gray sky
Home for all the ages
Know that you are needed
Our lives flow in your sap
In life you stand tall
A link for sky and the earth
In death you give of self
Helping new growth to its birth
Life recycled to new life
Rotting transferred to growth
Your time is more that yours
It is a part of the continuum
Stand tall against the tragedy
Of man’s ego playing fast
Teach us the lessons of time
May old growth always last
Bob Thomas
copyright 2001