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Nature Man’s Playground
For Joseph Cornell
The nature-man leads us to his playground,
strewn with grasses, pines, late-season flowers,
Easter Meadow.
He plays a game, “tree imagery,”
turning us all into trees,
arms flowing and branching,
bodies curling into buds and opening into Spring…
the nature-man's voice becomes the breeze
that whips through taller trees
and infuses us with a fresh burst of sun.

The nature-man's dark diamond eyes
sparkle upon an ever-soaring smile
and a voice softer than clouds.
He leads us into a dance-communion
with earth and sky
we may otherwise have left
in the distant catacombs of childhood
had he not engaged us in a rite
of resurrection.

The nature-man knows this,
encourages us to know his playmates,
the trees, seeds, blossoms, birds,
four-leggeds and rocks,
to send them hope, to offer them prayer,
to show them a love
that pours from his eyes.

After all, we may heal a planet
for a new generation
of nature children.