Wise and Steady

Wise and Steady

The apple tree, in its winter cycle

Sunlight pale yet still determined,

casts its creamy glow

This will be your place always

I see you rest your hand against the aged trunk

You stoop and rescue a discarded branch

counting the rings of the stricken limb.

Ice-blue eyes aglow with joyful understanding

You trace your fingers along the bark

To where it furls like waves of arid surf

Beautiful old chap, you say,

With more than understanding

How wise and steady you remain.

You will see the sun rise long after me.

I believe, you must have known

Today, poised to tumble, to hardened earth

a single apple, the season`s last

Framed by an ice-blue sky,

I pluck it gently, from its mother branch

And give thanks

How wise and steady you remain.

By Sashi Radley