White Sunday 32: The Witness Tree

What shall be our witness tree,
our silent witness to our vows?
Where lovers come to speak their hearts
as we did, long before they came.

Perhaps a pine, so tall and straight,
evergreen steadfast symbol.
Catching the odd snow in winter,
keeping live the promise of life.

Perhaps an ancient oak, so strong,
Atlas to the forest sky, true
and earnest, indestructible
next to the frail neighboring boughs.

Perhaps a magnolia, sweet
and heady, refreshing the wind
and flowering to welcome life
and all its possibilities.

They are all witness to us, here,
in the silence of the forest,
where we speak words to God alone
and to one another, our hearts.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.