Mind of an Oak

May 20, 1998

How an oak tree thinks: Every twist

in its corkscrew limbs is a time-

lapse reaction to rain, to rocks

diverting the roots. It reaches

from its center to occupy

space - an elegance, functional,

finding its balance against wind,

a slope's intransigent slant,

its instinct what an observer

calls beauty, equilibrium

its passion, its only thought.