HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THAT? (Poem)

HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THAT?

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2025

In the midst of strangers of all colors and ages,

I found where I feel safest—

on a trail among the trees.

On crisp breezy mornings,

the yawning branches speak to me.

They say, “Darling, you can do anything.

Look at our barks all bruised and cracked,

harmed from woodpecker taps and beaver attacks,

yet we still grow and stand.

And when we fall,

the earth has our backs.

How beautiful is that?”

I glance into the man-made lake and watch turtles bask,

sunbathing and meditating silently.

To the right I see a seven-member turtle family,

then splash!

One jumps into the water.

Chillin in the corner on a log is a small frog.

Water ripples and tickles past lily pads,

a little girl laughs as she walks hand-in-hand with her dad,

and everything that makes me sad takes a break at this lake.

Gravel crunches under my feet.

A jogger breathing heavily passes me.

We are all strangers,

but Mother Nature’s family.

This is what life is supposed to be

beyond cell phone screens and blue lights.

Sunlight fills me with vitamin D, energy, and possibility.

I declare, “Today I will be like the trees.”

In my left ear buzzing, an insect yells, “Yezzzzz, cousin!”

I can’t help but laugh.

How beautiful is that?