Everything’s Better Under a Tree

leafy arms raised to the sky
waving in the wind like fans at a sporting event
providing shade, cleaning the air, anchoring the landscaping
sheltering birds and squirrels and insects
sometimes flowering, possibly offering fruit or nuts
perhaps even entertaining the children with climbable limbs
or maybe a rope swing or even a treehouse:
prime real estate for the younger set, only occasionally visited 
by the elders who would rather 
sit below in lawn chairs or a hammock, preferably 
with a glass of iced tea or beer or maybe a cigarette
everything’s better under a tree
a gift created
by nature
that we
can use
to good
advantage
or 
destroy
with
our
greed
and indifference

© ARHuelsenbeck