Growth Ring Haiku

by Catherine Fannon

O:

Sometimes the outdoors

Follows you in, reminding

You to go outdoors

1:

Stars are ancestors

Blown into life by the wind

Still living with us

2:

Mindful, present heart

Aware of experience

As it happens now

3:

I drop into now

Let the forest be the guide

Cradled by the land

4:

The distance is short

Eighteen inches, head to heart

Longest trip ever

5:

Visit the forest

Open your senses to the

Poetry of trees

6:

We gather for tea

Drinking the essence of earth

Forest communion

7:

The trail is ahead

A path through the wilderness

Leads us back to self

8:

Befriend the forest

Invite the humans outdoors

Make introductions

9:

Teensy tinsy toes

Traipsing up and down my spine

Icky ticky bites

10:

Our lives are stressful

Hustle culture makes us sick

Forests help us heal

11:

Religion divides

Spirituality builds

Bridges across time

12:

Guiding is friendship

We receive forest wisdom

Guiding brings me joy

13:

Anticipation!

Thunder rumbles in the sky

Hopes dashed by black clouds

14:

Ringed by red bud trees

Coupled butterflies dance by

Buzzing meadow love

Growth Rings Haiku is the Growth Rings Project created by Catherine Fannon, FTS Certified Forest Therapy Guide, June 2021 cohort.