In Praise of Trees

On the mountain
great trees of pine and oak,
of spruce and aspen, raise boughs
in benediction.

Intermediaries
between the sun and earth,
they nurture the living
as they feed on the dead
who come at last to them
as to a priest, sinking
gratefully into the soil

where their strong roots
promise resurrection,
transforming humic acid
into atmosphere,
into us.

—In Praise of Trees by Penny Harter