​Canope

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As the sun and the wind play with the branches and the leaves

The openings in the canopy glitter and twinkle,

Like stars in the night sky
 

Beneath it there are rooms where sounds may be muffled,

But they may also be echoing

Blackbirds make these rooms audible with their song
 

And below those sounds there is a slow heaving, and a moaning

Where the trees take the stresses down into the stony ground

And the water up to the foliage
 

Mind you, the trees are uncomplaining: branches may snap

For no apparent reason, sounding like a pistol shot, but no outcry

It is an existence both unsentimental and forgiving
 

And the fluster of the foliage reports the whereabouts of the wind

That moves like a train through the forest; it tells you

Where the engine is and where the cars
 

Amidst this tree-majesty the twinkling light comes down to you

To invite your weightlessness to take to its wings and fly up

And join the stars in a moment of eternity