A Delicate Thing.
For all its great mass of layered spread
a tree is a delicate thing
as beneath the bark hides a thin sleeve
of active cells engineering
the lifti of water from rootlings to high
thirst of every twig.
Deep heartwood protected a tree may
live for decades certain
of growth and saplings fight for space
to begin starch conversion
to life-giving sugars of verdant supply.
Wide the reach skyward
as trees spread and disperse needed
oxygen from hidden stores.
After rainstorms cleanse the covering
leaves force dried in sun
enables change by photosynthesis as
open feast hosts hungry
wildlife to capitalise on sweet nectar
from pollen\'s seasonal sip
for diverse tree-balance in food chain
sustains much fur and feather.
Alchemy\'s sap make happen the poem
we call \" a tree \" yet seen
as given glory should we cease felling
more than we need ?