Morning Walk

The acorn woodpecker's
Thump on the tree
And the owl's hidden hoot
Fill my ears as I walk
Through forest on a
Sun-filled morning

Canadian geese calls
Sound like laughter
As they fly into the
Lake with a splash
And swim peacefully
One after the other

Manzanita trees and bushes
Are a deep red-brown
Covered in lichen and moss.
Storing the sun in their veins,
Green leaves are lit from inside

Towering oak trees
Stand in silence, moss
Like an old man's beard
Hanging from aged branches.
Poison oak climbs the trunks,
"Leaves of three, let it be"

Everything is part of everything
And I am the tree, soil and sun.
Breathing in, I inhale
The life around me,
Breathing out, I reach to meet myself

To live in this moment
Is to be grateful
For what I have and love and am