Wind kisses the tops of spindly trees,
a gentle apology
for last night’s tantrum.
Branches lie twisted,
too stubborn to let go
of their lofty rigidity.
Under my feet
the dull carpet of late autumn
has turned a shimmering pallet
of ochre and amber.
Even the mosses stand at attention
in this electric air,
sending fairy-thin tendrils
skyward to catch trickles of sunlight.

The forest sighs
and folds around me like a hug.
We are forgiven, the storm and I
Absolved.
My organic body,
made leaden by confrontation, 
will transform
in the womb of the woods,
return to humus,
fertile and giving.
What was broken
by the storm
becomes 
humble
and reborn.

©Vixen Lea 2020

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Nature has much to teach us, not the least of which is humility. Though life itself appears linear, when we widen our perspective we can see the overlapping cycles that enable all living things, including humans, to thrive. Conflict and strife are human concepts, born of our over-active egoic minds.
There is no place for grudges in the forest. The forest depends on the fierce wind of the storm as much as it does the nourishing rain. Each toppled tree and broken branch is not a loss to be mourned or a wrong to be revenged, but a gift to the spores and seeds and unborn creatures so that they may further enliven the ecosystem.
(This poem was originally published in Illumination on Medium.com.)