Celestial Nucleus
Ellen Jantzen
Patrick McCarthy
The buds of spring nurture hope
Swiftly out-dueling prior months of
Colorless days with a cataclysmic green
In summer it provides shelter
As sheets of shade protect
Its parasitic cohabitants
Autumnal afternoons are
Warmed by its fiery chromatics
That act as an alarm for furry creatures
To prepare for winter
It sheds its leaves
Protecting Mother Earth with a blanket
Opening its ranks for whistling winds
To rush through limbs unobstructed
Then beneath its battered bark
As it now prepares for spring
Mother Nature has etched within its trunk
One more concentric ring