metamorphosis

i am turning into a tree
i know this by the way that my toes
long and brown and hard
are digging into the earth
the way it tastes
dark and warm and sweet
with creamy streaks of moisture
i curl around and follow
farther into the ground
i know it by the way my legs
pale silver with little flaking curls
are bound together
how they bend slightly in the wind
and the coolness spreading
in layering swells outward
draws circles of life
from my springing center
i know it by the way my fingers
slender smooth and green
are stretching out toward the sun
sprayed with its golden heat
and soaking it up like air
how they turn from side to side singing
in motion all together
rustling soft edges against the sky
i am turning into a tree
tall and silver
warmth
wind
earth
shhshshssshhshsh

two lovers walk by
she says isn't it a lovely birch
it looks as though it was dancing
he smiles at her and agrees
because love makes everything true

i told you i would never leave you.