Poetry: Forest Dwellers

During the pandemic of this year, I've been writing a poem each day and posting it to Facebook. Most of my poems are celebrations of natural beauty; a few are ethical/political commentaries with some bite.

You can see more poems by visiting my new Facebook page.

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Forest Dwellers

©2021 Rev. Ted Tollefson

A small flight of geese

are honking their way north by northwest

is it migration or just an extra lap?

Turkeys are working as ground crew today

whittling encouragement tinged with envy

to their airborne cousins.

They have wings that on a good day

can get them beyond the jaws

of a hungry coyote or mischievous dog,

but they have not tasted

the thin air of high flying

except in their dreams.

In between, wood-peckers are hammering out

a staccato call to wake up

which we heed by walking home

for a cup of tea and morning meditation.

As forest-dwellers, we learn to get along

and by the music of our differences

we thrive.