Talking With Trees

my umbrella's a pinwheel of colour
my rainboots are over-sized and orange
2 cats and a dog
we paint the road
and turn into a track
bright with grass
disappearing in overhanging leaves

I'm booted and coated
the cats speed between trees
avoiding raindrops
the dog doesn't care

we walk and wild flowers curtsy
until the sky spills out
into a field

I wonder
if the herons
will rise from it?

not today

we take a trail
between the trees
step into the ditch, splashing

2 more steps
and we're into the meadow
the one
with the rock
in the middle

jacket under me
umbrella above
cat on each side
legs dangling

will I know
that I'm being greeted today?
I wait

today I imagine
my brain waves
gettting slower
like hammocks
holding sleepy bodies

now the trees
seem extra bright
daylight silhouettes

eyelids close
my mind cupped
resting but aware
my presence has been taken in

by 30 yr. old trees
still children
leaning how to speak
I bless them for
they've made me feel
at home.

-lora bennett, 1995.