NATURE Poem: Who am I, by Erica Marchant

Their ancient trunks cover our land
Home to a hundred creations
Their rise and fall each day
A circle of life in plain view

They breed from beauty to life love to nature
Yet where they flourish the grass perishes
Leaving behind dry acidic dust
Where only annoying weeds and dandilions grow
That nourishes the bumblebee

At dusk in autumn
A hawk perches on an empty branch
The splendor and terror of his feast of flesh and bone
As he consumed without fire
an unlucky rabbit or chipmunk lost to the natural order

The brown bath of leaves around my house
A heartache to my tender calloused hands

At midnight in winter
They keep earths creations warm