Embrace of Bark and Bone

I sit against the bark of this tree, my favourite spot, watching the river ripple and the swifts swarm, as the geese squabble and the ducks squawk and a cuckoo calls spring into motion behind me, as the roots trail between my toes and mud seeps into my shoes, as the trunk caresses my spine and holds me tight, an embrace of bark and bone that is soft and familiar, as the tree feels my aching soul and sits beside me, murmuring stories of hope and wonder, and as the painful world fades away, I know that I am home.