Ash Trees

Ash trees have dappled dreams;

their fractured leaflets ruffle in opposition

to one another from sensitive stems,

fed on sap that climbs in pulses skyward.

If we lie beneath them each breath out 

will become its own exhalation

of a past terror, at last, departing us.

Quivers of cool and warm

will stipple our faces and

these lessons might teach us that here,

shade falls only in the places

that sun and wind dictate.

These protean leaves of Ash trees 

know the juxtaposition of wounds of scald

on one side and the tonic of cold 

on the other, that light and dark are related,

brother to brother, and each of us must reconcile 

to the tether of our own wavering shadows.

Image from pixabay of Ash tree leaves.

https://soundcloud.com/user-567085844/ash-trees-m4a

(Just FYI, it's pretty hard to say Ash Trees without it sounding like ash trays).