Maple

I love her,

in her golden light,

stretched toward the sunrise.

She reminds me to lean hard

to the light.

Her trunk a crooked spine

traces the lines of my mother’s back.

She bends but won’t break.

She braces for the wind.

Loss of gnarled branches

has not hindered her growth.

Her roots embedded,

calling deep to deep.

LTM 10/30/23

Proverbs 3: 13-18

13 Happy are those who find wisdom,
   and those who get understanding,
14 for her income is better than silver,
   and her revenue better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
   and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
   in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
   and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
   those who hold her fast are called happy.