By: Milt Montague

long skinny fingers
grasping for something
reaching up, up to the clouds
while anchored firmly in the earth
crowded together for mutual support
limbs once covered by leaves, now bare

alive with bird and other flitting creatures
bustling with life, it’s own ecosystem
now quietly sleeping and awaiting
the spring that will surely come
the promised resurrection
of the yearly life cycle

rainfall from the clouds above
nourish these sleeping giants
to withstand the onslaught of
winter’s most ferocious storm
to survive until spring brings
it’s renewal of life once again