Do Trees Talk? (Poem)

So often we are on the verge – the verge of saying something, doing something, being something. This world is fast-paced. And it only seems to be getting faster.

Everything is literally at our fingertips. We can press buttons to make most of our lives appear/disappear. We can connect with people across continents. There are a lot of great qualities that technology brings to us. Things are easier, but also, more complex in so many ways.
 
How often are we still? How often are we truly quiet? We always have the words perched on our lips, cresting our brains, ready to respond – ready to like, comment, dislike, make a tweet, share a photo.
 
How often are we still? How often do we listen internally – to the silence that is voluminous inside us all? We tend to prepare, to come up with the next thing to say or do. The next thing to show the world. Our glossy, perfected version of ourselves, our days, our moments.
 
Well, that sounds exhausting, doesn’t it?
 
I am blessed. I live in Vermont. I am surrounded by woods. I can walk up my street and get lost in the forest. I can drive a short distance and climb a beautiful mountain, sit near a bubbling stream and disappear in nature. I know the sacredness of the land around me, and I am forever grateful for the lessons and the quiet it has afforded me.
 
One day, I was out on my deck meditating. My daughter, who was then about 4 years old, came out to join me. We were sitting, quietly. She whispered to me, “Mommy, do trees talk?” I smiled, keeping my eyes closed and said, “I am not sure, let’s listen and see.” So we sat and listened. It was a windy day, breeze shifting through the leaves. Every once in awhile, we would hear a groaning, or a creaking of a small tree being moved by the wind.
 

 
After a few minutes had passed, I asked her what she thought. It was a beautiful moment and it led to the poem “Do Trees Talk?” I invite you to find a space of nature. Sit quietly and listen. Find the stillness and the not-so-stillness around you. Listen to nature and all of its voices. Ask yourself – do trees talk?

Do Trees Talk?

sit
and listen
Do trees talk?
a child’s question filled with wonder
and wisdom
Let’s sit and listen
was my reply
quietly breathing, swaying we sat
listening with all our senses
eyes closed
and there it was –
the voice of the trees
dialogue between them
as they breathed and swayed
leaves rustling
branches creaking
roots sighing
slowly we listened
heard the language only one can hear in silence
Well, what do you think?
I asked her –
Do trees talk?
I think they do
she said
we held hands and listened some more
 

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