Thinking green in poems

courtesy of dustinwongphotos.com

One of the many reasons that made today abundantly delicious is that I serve on a Board of Directors (Green Building Certification Institute) that is committed to having mindful meetings. Prior to conducting our business I was invited to ask the group to pause for a moment of quiet and inspiration. I chose to read 2 short poems about trees…the first was written by Mary Oliver from her book Thirst and the second was by Mattie J.T. Stepanek in his book Heartsongs.

When I Am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

~ Mary Oliver ~

Leaf for a Day

Today,
I think I will be a tree.
Or perhaps,
A leaf on a branch on a tree.
I will feel
The gentle breeze,
and then I will
‘Plip’ off of my branch and my tree
And float in the wind.
I will go
Back and forth in the breeze
All the way down to the ground.
And after I rest
And say ‘Hello’
To the grass and dirt and bugs,
I will call to the wind,
“Come and take me
To visit my other leaf-friends
On all of the other trees, please.’
And the gentle breeze
Will come
And pick me up
So that I can jump and dace
With all of the other
Tree-stars and tree-flowers
That God gave the world.
What a special idea
To be, today.

~Mattie J.T. Stepanek ~

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