If I were a plant, I would be a maritime holly tree, where so few stop to acknowledge me.
Adapted to the salt, and the sun, and the sand, and the sea.
I give myself stability.
Noble and strong, with sharp leaves to show it.
As above, so below. Always flowing.
When the sun shines high, all of nature flourishes.
Extremes catalyze abundance
but I know what nourishes.
Deciduous leaves give way to winter, having had their time in the sun.
Conserved all there was to gain from that moment,
the quartz substrate and I are one.
Now is the time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
When everything has shed, I reveal my true nature.
Bright red berries gleam in the afterglow.
I hold the torch until the light comes back.
I breathe light into the quiet.
I am the morning.
I am the vast, white dawn.
Once unacknowledged,
but when all is forgotten
I remind you to grow.
If I can be noble, and stable, and true
during the harshest time of this planet covered in blue,
perhaps this is an allegory, a calling, a sign of what’s new.
What’s new when you’re still.
What’s new when you listen.
If I were a plant, I would be a maritime holly tree
because as the earth grows quiet, I have access to what matters.
And I’ll remind you of it with red and green.
With the waning of the sun and the coming of a long night, our Christmas culture always seemed counterintuitive to me. There’s a lot of pressure to get things accomplished at work (to earn the rest of the Christmas break), to run around buying and wrapping gifts, overbook yourself with social activities, etc. As someone who is in tune with Earth, I want to do the exact opposite. I want to slow down to a complete stop, feel the stillness of the winter air, and be quiet enough to hear the coming of a new dawn.
Ah! so now you add poet to your list of accomplishments. I enjoyed this expression of your true nature very much. I think I shall be a mockingbird and sing all of the songs of nature. Hmm, there might be another poem nesting there.