Black Oak in Yosemite Valley

Don'tcha just love the valley? Great shot. I've got the same tree in my portfolio. Your landscapes are terrific.

the universe is heaven,

is it not?

a flower ever unfolding,

without beginning or end in sight.

oh science tries to explain it all,

with big bangs and inflation,

i find it all so confusing,

and so i ask what color is this flower?

let me stand next to an oak tree,

on a cold winters day,

and breathe my misty breath unto it's bark,

oh dear oak tree, how did this all begin?

i hear silence,

the moist vapor leaving my breath,

lands onto the rough outer bark,

and i see it absorb into the skin of the tree.

she smiles and whispers into my ear:

when all is still i sing a song of silence,

when the wind stirs through my limbs i sing a song of melody,

when a storm draws near and tears away my older limbs i sing a song of rebirth,

when you breathe into my skin so tough,

i will tell you that your moisture is linked to my life,

in the most harmonius way,

we stand united,

this moment,

this place.

as i embrace this tree,

and a tear falls gracefully from my eyes,

this oak tree has taught me that we are one,

here and now,

this moment,

this place.