i rode by this little sumac plant and it called out "hey!"
so i hammered on my bicycle's brakes and turned back
and it said "what?
am i not good enough for a picture?
well, what about this:"
"or this!"
"or this!"
"oh my sweet" i replied, "i imagine the great grandchildren of the monarch butterflies who rested on your crimson fingers just weeks ago are talking about you in their little mexican valley.
the deer eating the sweet white oak acorns across that field are thinking back to the last time they passed you under a similarly blue and cloudless sky.
the painted turtle who crossed from the marsh just behind you to the little pond on the other side of this path is singing a little song to himself
about the girl turtle he left behind.
the one who lived just back of the crimson sumac."
"yes my treasure, you're famous without even trying."
I love and love the conversation with the little red sumac. Nice post Steven.
ReplyDeleteSteven, I think this should be a children's story. So charming . . . and illustrative, too, in more than one way.
ReplyDeleteI went on a glorious autumnal walk yesterday and I was frustrated, again, by my inability to name the trees. We have two trees in our garden and they have a similar leaf to this sumac, but they turn a rich coral pink instead of this glowing red. They are just at their peak now, but there will be bare branches in just a week or two! Fleeting fall beauty . . .
Thanks for the Sunday morning smiles, my friend.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful story! :)
ReplyDeletejoanna thankyou very much. i bet there are so many stories in the woods. steven
ReplyDeletebee!!! thankyou. i like to imagine the many story tellings in the woods. so much happens that is visible - and invisible. i too know very little about the names of what i see. in some ways i cultivate that ignorance out of some hard to characterize concern that it would get in the way of my seeing. steven
ReplyDeleteahhh jinksy thankyou so much. steven
ReplyDeletewillow - i imagine your sunday mornings are filled with smiles. i'm glad to add to them. steven
ReplyDeleteit definitely looks like it posed for you.
ReplyDeleteellen, plants will do anything to get on the golden fish blog. that way they get to leave their neighbourhood and see the world as well as be seen!! steven
ReplyDeleteG' Day From Australia, Very colourful Sumac. A great conversation with the Sumac and the creatures, their should be more of it because it's very calming talking to nature.
ReplyDeleteLoved that!
ReplyDelete