Until the Earth is Kind

By Ray Curtis

I am trapped under grasses 
Lost in cloud spirals and summer moons 
The easy evening breezes 
Startle heavy green trees from their slumber. I see them shake with the promise of change 

Soon 
I hear them whisper. 
Rush, rush into wakefulness 
Sate yourself on sugar and atmosphere 
The open days are almost over. 

Sun-warmed softness 
And the clumsy, sap-seeping bruising That stains my fingertips 
Will soon brittle with cold 
Will everything be lost to frost? 

Underfoot and out of sight 
Roots reach for one another 
Feeling for movement in the dark 
Entangling and embracing with quiet wildness Until the earth is kind.