I wrote this poem a couple of years ago while sitting with my grandkids as they played in the woods.
Complexity
sitting by a stream
enveloped in subtle autumn beauty
feeling solid ground beneath
breathing invisible life-giving air
awareness awakens
verdant summertime leaves
conceal yellows and oranges
reds
maroons
and complexity beyond measure
introduced species small and large
exotic flora and fauna
suppress more delicate autochthones
of many hues
small and large
and complexity beyond measure
death, demolition and destruction
hide and inflame
grief and fear
despair
desolation
and complexity beyond measure
rising seas and rampaging wildfires
screaming winds and persistent drought
overshadow and obliterate connection
to earthy soil and solid rock
iron core of earth
and complexity beyond measure
sitting by a stream
watching beloved children at play
quietly
unexpectedly
touching grief
beyond words
beyond comprehension
beyond endurance
that simmers steadily
in the silent static
and active living
earth
in expansive and tortured
human realms
and in the deepest
most hidden
most vulnerable
recesses of the soul
complexity beyond measure
Originally published by The Abstractaphy Initiative.