- Sandy Obodzinski
Among The Trees
Among The Trees
Inspired by ‘When I Am Among The Trees’ by Mary Oliver and written to participate in an online Zoom reading with Black Dog Poetry @poetryblackdogbookco May 12, 2020
it is quite fine to live among the beech and the white oak
the pine and the maple these days
while a violent discontent rattles in the distance
disturbing my senses and
jarring my sleep with
wild dreams and cold sweat
here, in the woods
tucked away in a spring-fed hollow
i nestle in a simple place
each day, i watch and listen
i watch the bobbing rump of the palm warbler
within the clover, the male house finch feeding
fledglings as they grapple with fresh awkward wings
i listen to the late-day ee-oh-lay of the wood thrush
somewhere off in the branches, and hope the barred owl couple
call during their nightly hunt
the eastern bluebirds laid five eggs,their
first clutch of the season, tiffany-blue promises
each one hatched in its time – one a day later
than the rest
they should have fledged last wednesday
or thursday, certainly friday at the latest
but each morning, no calls from the trees
just worms and grubs delivered by patient parents
did the parents keep them in the nest to protect them against the cold?
did they want the smallest to gain more strength?
sunday morning, mother’s day, there were no answers
simply a well-loved empty nest and
new songs high among the leaves
