“The heart’s affections are divided like the branches of the cedar tree; if the tree loses one strong branch; it will suffer but it does not die; it will pour all its vitality into the next branch so that it will grow and fill the empty place.” — Khalil Gibran
It appears war might claim another limb on our tree as it has so many times in the past. We’re praying it won’t happen ~ but it might.
How outrageously maddening it is to be asked to accept such atrocities for the sake of saving our larger tree, but such as it is. So as each new limb breaks, our hearts break with it.
These times require we look beyond our feelings to a much higher power to make sense of the senseless.
Just as I was ready to tumble into the rabbit hole of despair my niece sent me a message — a message from Mother Nature — the divine power who sustains our planet.
Her message was a salve to my broken heart.
My niece is a poet who writes under the pen name Otissus, and the message came in the form of a poem within a compilation of her recent work, Roots Above Ground.
The poem, Ode to a Cedar, is a beautiful thought on the power, beauty and resilience of the mighty cedar tree.
A perfect message in these troubled times.
ODE TO THE CEDAR
I thank you, Cedar
With a reverent touch and
dose of hose water
The mother’s arms extend
to shade and
shelter the life beneath her
Calls it in-never
Always there to greet you
A child’s refuge to climb
or behind her hide
Grateful for the womb
of privacy you provide
Vitalist force of the forest
Filters the air among us
Centuries long steadfast
with the wisdom to endure the weather
Your bounty invites a
crow murder &
scurry squirrel dweller
You soak up carbon like
nothing we can buy
Like our lungs
you help us breathe
Roots are the alveoli
Though I curse you when you shed
your leaves and I step upon the
foliage
Would rather have your presence
than any tower, wire, or voltage
I fear your demise and where you
may land
Should a gust of wind take your
stand
But your roots rock steady
Established like an appendage
You won the game of patience
And have rings to show it ~ Otissus
I remember we had cedar tree in our backyard when I was a boy.
- I swung from a rope for the first time,
- explored the vertical universe for the first time,
- discovered the beauty of nature for the first time.
I remember staring out the kitchen window while eating my cream of wheat, and watching the squirrels, birds and butterflies using that old cedar as home base.
How amazed I was that even during the most violent of storms the tree would bend — but never break.
When I was without playmates I would set up camp there and see how high I could climb, trusting somehow if I were to fall that old cedar would catch me.
It was my first best friend, where I first learned God did provide some things on which I could rely and trust.
The poet Virgil believed the cedar tree represented incorruptibility, claiming that the wood of cedars was used to make statues of the gods. It’s become a symbol of wisdom and a totem for many cultures. You’ll find the cedar in the bible and sacred texts of many traditions, as all who encounter the tree are enthralled by its size and majesty.
The nation of Lebanon has gone as far to make the cedar the symbol of their national identity.
The cedar has the uncanny ability to tap into deep-flowing waters, inaccessible to other trees, and then share its nutrients with those trees through its incomparable root system.
The branches of the cedar have even found their way into our holiday season, ever reminding us winter’s darkness in time will pass, and with spring life will emerge again.
It is an ever-present symbol of hope.
So finding my niece’s poem gave me a needed lift, reminding me, in these broken times, some things do, indeed, stand the test of time.
Have a patient heart, dear friends.
Just a thought…
Pat and Otissus
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