Trees

These sandals were made of red tooled-leather and yes, they had previously belonged to one of my sisters. The house was just a few years old and my parents were young. I remember believing that they knew everything and could rise to any challenge. I’m much older now than they were then and I still don’t have many answers. This makes me think of how fragile and connected we all are, even if there are those who can’t see it.

How the trees rise and stand up, with strong trunks,
with branches and leaves?
(Surely there is something more in each of the trees,
some living soul.)

~ Walt Whitman, “Song at Sunset”, from Leaves of Grass