For Arbor Day

Forestry science tells us,

That even stumps,

Long gone gray

And seemingly dead,

Go on living underground,

Contributing to the forest.

We now know roots communicate,

Using mycelium fungus

More or less like the synapses 

Of a human brain.

Trees feed each other.

Older and taller “Mother Trees” 

Nurture, protect, and educate 

Younger seedlings.

Regarding the intelligence

Of trees,

What humans don’t know

Is probably beyond calculation.

Humans are creatures

Not quite as limited 

In our understanding 

As June bugs.

Recently enough,

We discovered

That only four percent 

Of the universe 

Is even perceivable to us.

The totality

Of dark matter and dark energy,

Ninety-six percent of that reality, 

Which sustains us, is utterly unknown, 

A mystery and might forever be.

Humans do the best we can.

Maybe the Trees know this.

Maybe the pulse of photosynthesis 

Quickens with delight

On International Arbor Day,

Maybe the forest celebrates

Our mutual ignorance,

Applauding the hardheaded will

We share to symbiotically survive.

Each exhaling the gas 

The other needs to breathe.

What more can we do

But exist together,

Equally ignorant, 

we and the trees, 

Awaiting illumination 

Of a Grand Design.