The Forest and I

I’d like to think the forest and I

have something in common:

a quiet comfort to imagine

my veins as xylem and phloem,

vernal vasculature

full of sugar and elegance.

I’d like to be autotrophic,

in a way — a provider.

Sustainable, substantial, life-giving.

Imagine it: the world thrumming

about your roots, communication

with the soil, nitrogenous and softly damp.

I don’t know about you,

but I find peace

in my potential for symbiosis.

I can close my eyes around it

comfortably, breathing in the knowledge

that my exhales sustain trees.