The Day Poetry Returned

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Let me stop using words
to communicate
but rather
images of nature
as seen through these eyes
on a late December day
on a path through the woods
by a pond
where the interconnectedness of all things
is a play—
no audience
no rehearsal
no words—
lichen finding its home
on the bark of a tree
roots descending into earth
in a mighty gesture of contact
decaying leaves
once nascent buds
comingling in the descent
teaching impermanence
emptiness
creating the mere concept of “leaf”
as they arise from conditions
and pass away in their own time
a droplet of rain
clinging
to a tiny red orb
poised for letting go
like a tear.