SOLSTICE OAK

Adrift on the sea of life I swim to you,

Great galleon of the forest,

Mighty father of fleets,

Wise as oceans,

Boundless, deep, primordial.

Gazing upwards through your arching canopy

I catch the delicate tracery of leaves, with sky beyond.

Vision spinning,

Spellbound in a shifting web of shade and light while,

far below, twisting roots seek earthy sustenance.

Summer’s at Her height but, inexorably,

the wheel must turn and I must change and grow.

Rough bark pulses and folds beneath my fingers

as questions form and are whispered.

Patient, still, your tide of wisdom flows in

the murmur of insects, the shrill call of a wren,

the gentle music of leaves...

And peace descends.

Silent, becalmed, safe within the grace of your green temple

I give thanks for this gift, this precious jewel,

Placing it deep within to guide me, hold me in the endless

circle dance of my slow evolving.

 

Heather Shackleton

21st July 2001

 

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