Svelte
_____
Windswept
Elegant slender tree
Stands alone
Undaunted
by snow, sun, storm
Sheltered only underground
by a colony of stones
Slumbering ogres
Keeping roots and water
Contained
Secured
Held
Elegant slender tree
Stands alone
Undaunted
by snow, sun, storm
Sheltered only underground
by a colony of stones
Slumbering ogres
Keeping roots and water
Contained
Secured
Held
I am both the stone mountain
And the slim, meager tree
Battered incessantly
But still the most beautiful thing
Radiating from this mountain
Birds still nestle in her branches
Foxes rest at her feet
And the sun kisses her daily
_____
Written in the mountains outside Lyons, Colorado
