halting me in stride

you line nature’s catwalk

majestic and sprawling

massive at your base

wearing mottled bark

gnarled and knotty

early spring is flaunting 

your naked beauty

rambling at your peaks

having accompanied generations

hollowed by time

a trunk offers storage and shelter

with summer’s haze I will return

after leathery leaves have unfurled

providing canopies dense and lush

in your shade and bloom

I shall sit 

and breathe the air