The walnut trees in my back yard
reach open-handed to the sky,
teach me how to speak my needs,
to pray my way through the day.
There's a conversation in song
that goes on outside all day long,
the cacophony of many birds,
each one's territory heard.
The soil is rich with minute life,
worms and beetles that squirm and strive
as each battles for the continued right
to find or be food for a fellow sprite.
first published in The Oak
also published in AllPoetry.com
©2011 Bonnie Manion