No Stony End

Young conifer
Which set down roots
Some few years ago
But now exposed
By desert rains
And so it seems
To cling to Earth
While off beyond
The hoodoos laugh
At upstart pine

You see
The mighty columns say
This once was plain
Withered away
Exposing us
The roots of Earth
Soon enough
More rain will come
Erode the land
You’re rooted on
Until you fall
Then come to rest
As dust beneath
Our hoodoo feet

It’s true
The little sapling said
That my life soon
Will come to end
But reconnoiter this
Old rock
That finite too
Are stony roots
And soon enough
For infinity
You’ll be laid bare
Returned to Earth

While I who live
Leave progeny
Each year
A thousand little seeds
And from the ash
Of living things
My seedlings rise
Like phoenix fire
And drink the rain
Which someday true
Will end my time
But not before
The path’s prepared
To be reborn

So rest assured
My sandstone friends
Though death may come
Life has no end