Beltane's  Tree

Turns the year, season's circle,
Vibrant, verdant life returns
Beneath the fertile, fecund field
Roots anchor deep in rain-drenched soil.

Within each new leaf unfurled,
Throughout every brittle winter branch,
Joy and vitality gradually flow--
Sagacious, stretching, they reach forward.

In supplication to the Heavens
Arthritic fingers seek the sun--
Life-sustaining, heat-bathing
The gnarled and twisted, aging trunk,
Battled-scarred by lightning's rapiers
And lover's tattooed tributes.

A gentle breeze sighs and whispers,
Dappled sunlight patterns shift
As leaves applaud day's re-creation--
Fragile ivory flowers tremble;
Blossom-scented silence broken,
The bees' buzz, thrums.

Emerald hearts and chartreuse spirits,
Their youthful souls with Nature meshed--
A gentle jocund being watches
Young lovers bound by Beltane's spell.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: This poem was inspired by the Celtic/Wiccan
                celebration of Beltane, on May 1st. Governed by
                the Hawthorn tree, this day celebrates the union
                between two lovers and the bond of intimacy.
                Beltane also honors the Rites of Spring, and
                rebirth in the forms of flowers, food,and of  
                all things living of this Earth.

(entered in the 'Beauty don't Admire' comp.)