POETRY  

"Your gnarled, twisted branches
reach outward, widely extend."

                                     Photo by Weebly.com                                    

Old Mighty Oak
by Jane Russell

Your gnarled, twisted branches
reach outward, widely extend.
You have seen this land
before houses encroached.
You were a tiny acorn
planted by nature,
nurtured by soil,
quenched by rain.
Squirrels have feasted
on your plentiful acorns, nested,
scurried up your hefty trunk,
along your outstretched arms.
Ohlone women once ground
your acorns into meal.
 
Your body is weathered,
textured by elements.
Thick platelets of bark
cover you in a protective blanket.
You have seen many seasons.
Now you provide shelter
for picnic tables on the grassy hillside.
Visitors relish your quiet demeanor,
beneath the canopy of your great girth.
Long sturdy boards support
your heavily drooped limbs.
A wise elder, bent and old,
you endure, stalwart in spirit.

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 ​Jane Russell lives in Pittsburg, California with her partner and two beautiful cats. She is a retired teacher, counselor and university instructor. She started writing poetry in high school. She belongs to a creative writing critique circle and is a member of the Bay Area Ina Coolbrith Poetry Circle. She especially enjoys writing poetry about nature and her extensive travels. Several of her poems have been published in the Avocet: A Journal of Nature Poems, and a poem was recently published in the Suisun Valley Review, quarterly printed edition. She enjoys taking a variety of classes through OLLI, especially creative writing and also singing in a local women’s a capella choral group.

Other works in this issue:
Poetry
​Perfection Found in Nature

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