ἀνορχέομαι

Picture taken from http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2204/5712721507_09460d604c_z.jpg, courtesy of The Internet. 

This was written for the "Opportunity For Readers" challenge in response to Tree Hugger Mom's prompt: "A poem about the spirit within trees and stones." The poem's title is (at least according to The Internet) Ancient Greek for "leap up and dance."

This poem is also dedicated to my own amazing mom. May you have a warm, happy birthday today (2/6/12) and for many years to come!

ἀνορχέομαι (leap up and dance)

There are tree spirits and there are stone spirits,

Dryads and oreads,

Sisters of the river,

Daughters of the earth,

Cousins of the stars.

When the sun shines, these spirits

Glow in the light of the day

And dance the spiral dance of nature

That mirrors the whirling electrons

And the comets and stars of the sky.

And all who watch the dance are captivated

By the oneness of it all.

But when the rain falls

And the lightning cracks

And the earth shakes,

The dance changes.

Its speeds up, spiraling,

Bordering on chaos.

Mirroring the crashing atoms

And the exploding of supernovas,

The spirits collide

And the stones crack open

And the trees soak up rivers of sadness

And all who watch the dance are shocked

By the damage caused by just one storm.

Nature feels the storms keenest of all.

And then the storm ends.

And nature heals—

What nature does best.

And the tree spirits and stone spirits,

Dryads and oreads,

Sisters and daughters and cousins and family,

Are more one than ever before.

They think with one mind,

Breathe,

Sigh happily,

And begin the joyful dance again,

The dance of rebirth and new life,

Together

As always.