There you are...stretched to the sky proudly before me.  It’s as if you know... There is a time to bask in the glory of self,  the brilliance of your season... And... there is a time to be naked to the bone, with nothing visible to offer but quiet sadness, such graceful melancholy of your fall and your winter. 

I envy your audacity to keep standing tall and mock my disbelief... How do you embrace and display yourself so, though jewels of your glory have left you bare?  Not a quiver in your sway or tremble in your branches, just a quiet dignity. “Saddens wakes at the foot of the rainbow climb” you say. And I bow ...

Your grand lives in your roots, your worth in your spirit... The jewels of spring come and go, you don’t even blink. They are but a headdress. Ah the wisdom to stand back, beautiful and unattached! Such glory has no seasons as it sits at the cradle none of them can touch. 

Photo by Casey Mitchell