Each Day

My Daughter Says

My daughter says
every tree has a soul.
Some are good, some are bad.
But always, a soul.
My daughter is young enough
to know these things.

My daughter says
some trees also have a spirit.
(But only the good trees.)
People, too.
She is old enough
to say these things.

Guided by spirit we can grow
from the crack in a boulder.
We can lift sidewalks.
We bend and yet are strong.
We flower, bear fruit, give seed.
We are where the raccoon sleeps,
the hawk nests, the monkeys play.

Without the spirit we twist,
we wither, we break.
With the spirit our roots take hold.
My daughter knows. So young, so old.

Note: I withdrew this poem from wattpad because a journal wanted to publish it. Now it's been published (an anthology called DoveTales: Family & Cultural Identity) so I'm free to show it on wattpad again. Thanks to everybody for their support and comments. You've helped me grow.